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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. bass — low music
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. rash — a series
  6. tube — a container
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. land — a country
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. pass — a permit
  11. spring — the season
  12. saw — the tool
  13. rash — hasty
  14. saw — the tool
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. spring — of water
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. bass — the fish
  19. land — ground
  20. land — to come down
  21. bear — the animal
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. tube — the underground
  24. bear — the animal

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