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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. ball — a dance
  3. cue — a signal
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. tube — a container
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. field — for sport
  8. cue — a hint
  9. spring — the season
  10. drill — the tool
  11. cue — for pool
  12. field — a subject
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. field — farmland
  20. drill — a practice
  21. drill — army training
  22. ball — a great time
  23. tube — the underground
  24. spring — of water

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