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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. spring — the season
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. stock — shares
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. tube — the underground
  7. stock — goods
  8. deal — to handle
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. mine — for digging
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. spring — of water
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. tube — a container
  20. snap — to click
  21. spring — a coil
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. deal — an agreement

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