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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 116 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 want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. pound — a weight
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. march — the month
  9. wake — a trail
  10. swing — to play on
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. game — a match
  13. march — music
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. game — wild animals
  16. swing — music
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. stem — to come from
  19. swing — in golf
  20. tube — the underground
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. march — the month
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. wake — before a funeral

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