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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 116 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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. spell — letters
  6. prune — to trim
  7. fall — to drop
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. prune — to trim
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. tube — a container
  12. fall — to drop
  13. spell — a short time
  14. rock — music
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. club — for golf
  17. fall — the season
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. tube — the underground
  20. club — a group
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. club — for dancing
  23. spell — magic
  24. rock — a stone

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