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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. lean — thin
  3. stock — shares
  4. spring — the season
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. wind — moving air
  7. toast — bread
  8. wind — moving air
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. spring — of water
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. lean — to bend
  16. spring — a coil
  17. stock — goods
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. tube — a container
  24. lash — to lash out

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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