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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. fork — in a road
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. tube — a container
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. row — a line
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. row — to paddle
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. squash — to crush
  12. spring — a coil
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. rest — a break
  15. tube — the underground
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. squash — the sport
  20. rest — what's left
  21. rest — what's left
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. spring — the season
  24. patient — a sick person

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