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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. tube — the underground
  3. land — to come down
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. swing — to play on
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. swing — in golf
  10. land — ground
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. race — the arms race
  14. ball — a dance
  15. land — a country
  16. race — humankind
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. pound — a weight
  19. race — a contest
  20. tube — a container
  21. ball — a great time
  22. swing — music
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. pound — to hit hard

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