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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. rash — a series
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. can — a tin
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. tube — the underground
  7. rash — hasty
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. wind — moving air
  11. can — a tin
  12. game — wild animals
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. branch — a division
  15. wind — moving air
  16. rock — a stone
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. can — to be able to
  20. game — a match
  21. tube — a container
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. branch — of a bank

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