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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. wind — moving air
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. present — a gift
  5. ground — the earth
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. ground — a position
  8. tube — the underground
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. tube — a container
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. present — there
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. wind — moving air
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. wake — a trail
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. present — the time now
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. ground — crushed
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. wake — before a funeral

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