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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. tube — a container
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. march — the month
  6. march — the month
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. present — there
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. court — for sport
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. rush — hurry
  14. roll — a cake
  15. march — music
  16. present — the time now
  17. tube — the underground
  18. roll — a list
  19. court — of law
  20. present — a gift
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. ruler — a monarch
  24. court — of a king

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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