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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 need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. swing — in golf
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. hand — in cards
  7. date — the fruit
  8. swing — music
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. hand — help
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. capital — a city
  14. foot — a measure
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. capital — money
  17. swing — to play on
  18. tube — the underground
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. net — in sport
  21. net — for catching
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. net — after costs
  24. tube — a container

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