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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. rule — government
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. spring — of water
  5. tube — the underground
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. foot — a measure
  8. tube — a container
  9. row — a line
  10. row — to paddle
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. spring — the season
  13. track — to keep track
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. rule — a law
  16. spring — a coil
  17. track — a path
  18. saw — the tool
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. hand — help
  23. track — a song
  24. hand — in cards

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