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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 120 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 be taking the ________________.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. squash — to crush
  3. tube — a container
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. hand — help
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. present — a gift
  9. scale — size or range
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. present — the time now
  12. present — there
  13. scale — in music
  14. bat — the animal
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. squash — the sport
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. hand — in cards
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. scale — for weighing

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