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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. spring — a coil
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. spring — of water
  6. perch — the fish
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. spring — the season
  10. court — of a king
  11. cue — for pool
  12. chest — of your body
  13. cue — a signal
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. court — for sport
  17. cue — a hint
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. court — of law
  20. chest — of your body
  21. tube — a container
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. wake — a trail
  24. tube — the underground

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