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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 want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. last — to go on
  4. mate — a friend
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. row — a line
  7. spring — the season
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. spring — of water
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. mate — a partner
  13. tube — the underground
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. last — final
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. spring — a coil
  20. mate — to breed
  21. row — to paddle
  22. last — finally
  23. pitch — completely
  24. pitch — a sports field

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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