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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. staff — a stick
  3. squash — to crush
  4. wake — a trail
  5. tube — a container
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. tube — the underground
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. swing — to play on
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. hand — in cards
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. hand — help
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. squash — the sport
  17. staff — employees
  18. spring — the season
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. spring — of water
  21. staff — employees
  22. swing — in golf
  23. swing — music
  24. spring — a coil

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