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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 120 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 thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. row — to paddle
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. capital — money
  5. shower — to wash
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. capital — a city
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. squash — to crush
  11. spring — a coil
  12. spring — the season
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. row — a line
  15. tube — a container
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. shower — rain
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. tube — the underground
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. spring — of water
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. squash — the sport

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