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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. tube — a container
  5. tube — the underground
  6. squash — the sport
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. mark — a grade
  9. roll — a list
  10. vault — a safe
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. roll — a cake
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. mark — a trace
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. squash — to crush
  22. bat — the animal
  23. jam — to spread on bread
  24. hand — in cards

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