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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. row — to paddle
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. chair — a leader
  6. hand — in cards
  7. row — a line
  8. tube — the underground
  9. tube — a container
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. spring — of water
  12. spring — the season
  13. hand — help
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. bulb — for light
  18. bulb — for light
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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