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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 120 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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. chest — of your body
  4. squash — the sport
  5. chest — of your body
  6. staff — employees
  7. staff — employees
  8. wake — a trail
  9. craft — boats
  10. tube — the underground
  11. swing — to play on
  12. squash — to crush
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. swing — music
  15. present — there
  16. craft — a skill
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. present — the time now
  21. staff — a stick
  22. tube — a container
  23. chest — a box
  24. swing — in golf

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