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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. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. chip — for betting
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. spring — of water
  7. chip — to eat
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. spring — the season
  14. spring — a coil
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. tube — a container
  17. chest — of your body
  18. toast — bread
  19. chest — a box
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. tube — the underground
  22. chest — of your body
  23. mine — for digging
  24. patient — a sick person

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