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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. track — to keep track
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. tube — a container
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. tube — the underground
  8. track — a path
  9. fall — to drop
  10. swing — music
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. fall — the season
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. rush — hurry
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. fall — to drop
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. swing — in golf
  20. spring — the season
  21. spring — of water
  22. spring — a coil
  23. track — a song
  24. rush — to hurry

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