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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 120 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. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. pop — soda
  3. swing — in golf
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. tube — the underground
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. track — a song
  8. cold — not warm
  9. pop — to visit
  10. prune — to trim
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. swing — to play on
  13. track — to keep track
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. swing — music
  17. cold — an illness
  18. prune — to trim
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. track — a path
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. pop — music
  24. perch — the fish

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