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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. track — a path
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. spring — the season
  6. tube — the underground
  7. key — the most important part
  8. key — for a lock
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. track — a song
  11. spring — of water
  12. shower — rain
  13. net — after costs
  14. net — in sport
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. shower — to wash
  17. key — in music
  18. net — for catching
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. wake — a trail
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. track — to keep track
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. tube — a container

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