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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. net — after costs
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. mine — for digging
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. club — for dancing
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. rule — government
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. tube — a container
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. club — for golf
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. craft — boats
  17. net — for catching
  18. rule — a law
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. net — in sport
  21. club — a group
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. craft — a skill

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