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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 was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. spring — the season
  3. suit — to fit
  4. tube — a container
  5. shower — to wash
  6. suit — clothes
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. rash — hasty
  11. suit — in cards
  12. spring — a coil
  13. ball — a dance
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. tube — the underground
  16. rash — a series
  17. spring — of water
  18. shower — rain
  19. race — a contest
  20. race — humankind
  21. race — the arms race
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. kick — in football

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