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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'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. tube — a container
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. spring — of water
  7. spring — a coil
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. capital — a city
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. bear — the animal
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. spring — the season
  14. bear — the animal
  15. capital — money
  16. bulb — for light
  17. squash — to crush
  18. tube — the underground
  19. bulb — for light
  20. rush — hurry
  21. plane — a tool
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. capital — a big letter

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