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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. spring — of water
  3. board — a committee
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. tube — the underground
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. kid — child
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. last — to go on
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. last — final
  13. board — to get on
  14. spring — a coil
  15. swing — in golf
  16. pound — a weight
  17. tube — a container
  18. swing — music
  19. kid — to tease
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. swing — to play on
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. spring — the season
  24. pound — for dogs

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