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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. track — to keep track
  3. net — in sport
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. bear — the animal
  6. cap — of ice
  7. tube — the underground
  8. net — for catching
  9. track — a path
  10. rash — hasty
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. cap — a hat
  13. ground — a position
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. ground — the earth
  16. ground — crushed
  17. net — after costs
  18. bear — the animal
  19. cap — a lid
  20. rash — a series
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. track — a song
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. branch — a division

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