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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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. spring — of water
  3. can — to be able to
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. swing — music
  6. file — a document
  7. swing — in golf
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. tube — a container
  11. spring — a coil
  12. file — a tool
  13. chest — of your body
  14. file — a line of people
  15. tube — the underground
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. plane — a tool
  18. can — a tin
  19. spring — the season
  20. stem — to come from
  21. swing — to play on
  22. chest — a box
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. chest — of your body

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