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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. When will it ________________ you to start?
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. suit — in cards
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. wind — moving air
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. suit — clothes
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. last — final
  10. cap — of ice
  11. suit — to fit
  12. wind — moving air
  13. mine — for digging
  14. last — to go on
  15. last — finally
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. tube — the underground
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. wake — a trail
  20. fork — in a road
  21. cap — a hat
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. cap — a lid
  24. wind — to turn a key

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