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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 116 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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  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. spring — the season
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. track — to keep track
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. spring — a coil
  7. lie — to recline
  8. chair — a leader
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. track — a song
  11. swing — to play on
  12. cap — of ice
  13. track — a path
  14. tube — the underground
  15. swing — music
  16. spring — of water
  17. cap — a hat
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. cap — a lid
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. swing — in golf
  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