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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 120 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. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. spring — of water
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. field — farmland
  6. rash — a series
  7. rash — hasty
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. tube — the underground
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. kick — in football
  13. field — for sport
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. spring — a coil
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. land — a country
  19. field — a subject
  20. land — ground
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. land — to come down
  24. spring — the season

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