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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. club — for golf
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. tube — a container
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. spell — letters
  8. tube — the underground
  9. date — the fruit
  10. spring — the season
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. spring — a coil
  13. fall — the season
  14. fall — to drop
  15. mark — a grade
  16. mark — a trace
  17. club — for dancing
  18. club — a group
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. fall — to drop
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. spell — a short time
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. spell — magic

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