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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. root — of a plant
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. clip — a video
  6. spring — a coil
  7. spell — letters
  8. spring — of water
  9. clip — to cut
  10. clip — for paper
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. firm — a company
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. root — of a word
  15. spring — the season
  16. spell — magic
  17. tube — a container
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. root — the cause
  21. firm — decided
  22. tube — the underground
  23. firm — steady
  24. spell — a short time

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