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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. fork — in a road
  4. band — a ring
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. swing — to play on
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. chest — a box
  13. chest — of your body
  14. swing — in golf
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. band — a music group
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. wake — a trail
  19. chest — of your body
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. tube — a container
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. tube — the underground
  24. band — a rubber band

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