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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. game — a match
  3. rest — a break
  4. lean — to bend
  5. rash — a series
  6. lean — thin
  7. wound — an injury
  8. net — after costs
  9. spring — a coil
  10. rest — what's left
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. game — wild animals
  13. spring — the season
  14. rash — hasty
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. tube — the underground
  17. rest — what's left
  18. net — in sport
  19. spring — of water
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. wound — an injury
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. net — for catching
  24. tube — a container

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