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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 120 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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. I'll be taking 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. fine — high quality
  2. fine — all right
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. wake — a trail
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. fork — in a road
  7. present — a gift
  8. club — a group
  9. club — for dancing
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. game — a match
  13. rest — what's left
  14. present — the time now
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. rest — what's left
  18. club — for golf
  19. present — there
  20. rest — a break
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. game — wild animals
  23. tube — the underground
  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