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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. spell — letters
  3. tube — a container
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. field — a subject
  8. spell — a short time
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. dip — to sink
  11. march — the month
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. march — the month
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. field — for sport
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. march — music
  22. snap — to click
  23. spell — magic
  24. field — farmland

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