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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. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. squash — the sport
  3. club — for golf
  4. squash — to crush
  5. spring — the season
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. rock — a stone
  9. cold — not warm
  10. club — for dancing
  11. club — a group
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. wake — a trail
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. tube — the underground
  18. cold — an illness
  19. spring — of water
  20. tube — a container
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. rock — music
  24. spring — a coil

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