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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 want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. root — of a word
  6. file — a line of people
  7. last — to go on
  8. track — a path
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. root — of a plant
  11. track — a song
  12. root — the cause
  13. ball — a dance
  14. ball — a great time
  15. last — finally
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. file — a tool
  18. last — final
  19. tube — the underground
  20. file — a document
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. track — to keep track
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. deal — to handle

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