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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. tube — the underground
  3. march — the month
  4. spring — the season
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. wind — moving air
  7. root — of a word
  8. tube — a container
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. root — the cause
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. wind — moving air
  15. current — happening now
  16. spring — a coil
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. march — music
  19. current — electric
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. march — the month
  22. root — of a plant
  23. spring — of water
  24. current — of water

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com