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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. roll — a cake
  3. tube — a container
  4. roll — a list
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. last — final
  7. tube — the underground
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. kick — in football
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. last — to go on
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. cue — for pool
  14. spring — of water
  15. last — finally
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. spring — a coil
  20. branch — a division
  21. spring — the season
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. cue — a signal

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