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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. chip — to eat
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. spring — of water
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. prune — to trim
  9. net — in sport
  10. tube — a container
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. bat — the animal
  13. net — for catching
  14. tube — the underground
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. chip — for betting
  17. prune — to trim
  18. rock — music
  19. rock — a stone
  20. spring — a coil
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. spring — the season
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. net — after costs

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