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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. spring — the season
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. pop — music
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. drill — army training
  9. pop — soda
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. rash — a series
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. spring — a coil
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. rash — hasty
  17. spring — of water
  18. tube — a container
  19. tube — the underground
  20. pop — to visit
  21. drill — a practice
  22. drill — the tool
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. straw — dry grass

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