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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 want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. key — the most important part
  5. tube — the underground
  6. stem — to come from
  7. prune — to trim
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. game — wild animals
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. key — in music
  14. kick — in football
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. key — for a lock
  17. prune — to trim
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. game — a match
  21. cold — not warm
  22. cold — an illness
  23. rush — hurry
  24. rush — to hurry

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