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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. club — for golf
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. spring — the season
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. club — a group
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. tube — the underground
  9. can — to be able to
  10. wax — to grow
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. spring — of water
  13. spring — a coil
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. net — after costs
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. net — in sport
  19. mine — for digging
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. net — for catching
  22. tube — a container
  23. club — for dancing
  24. can — a tin

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