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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'll be taking the ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. cell — a phone
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. tube — a container
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. current — of water
  8. branch — a division
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. land — ground
  11. rash — hasty
  12. land — to come down
  13. track — to keep track
  14. track — a path
  15. cell — in biology
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. track — a song
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. current — electric
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. land — a country
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. current — happening now
  24. rash — a series

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