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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. ball — a dance
  3. chair — a leader
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. spell — magic
  7. tear — to rip
  8. key — the most important part
  9. craft — a skill
  10. craft — boats
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. spell — a short time
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. tear — from crying
  15. ball — a great time
  16. tear — from crying
  17. key — in music
  18. field — for sport
  19. field — farmland
  20. spell — letters
  21. tube — the underground
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. field — a subject
  24. key — for a lock

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