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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. bat — the animal
  3. club — for dancing
  4. spell — magic
  5. land — a country
  6. club — for golf
  7. land — ground
  8. tube — the underground
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. key — the most important part
  11. key — in music
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. pit — a hole
  14. land — to come down
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. spell — a short time
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. club — a group
  20. spell — letters
  21. key — for a lock
  22. pit — in a race
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. tube — in a tire

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