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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. file — a tool
  3. chair — a leader
  4. file — a document
  5. wake — a trail
  6. bore — to tire
  7. spring — the season
  8. tube — the underground
  9. tube — a container
  10. craft — boats
  11. craft — a skill
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. kick — in football
  17. spring — of water
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. file — a line of people
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. bore — to drill
  24. chair — to sit on

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