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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'll be taking the ________________.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. chip — for betting
  3. wind — moving air
  4. chip — to eat
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. net — after costs
  7. spring — the season
  8. land — ground
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. fine — all right
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. net — for catching
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. land — a country
  17. tube — a container
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. land — to come down
  20. wind — moving air
  21. fine — high quality
  22. net — in sport
  23. spring — a coil
  24. spring — of water

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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