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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: racket · spring · mate · game · firm · last · rush · tube

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. game — wild animals
  3. last — final
  4. rush — hurry
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. firm — decided
  7. last — finally
  8. game — a match
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. firm — a company
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. tube — a container
  13. mate — a partner
  14. mate — a friend
  15. mate — to breed
  16. spring — of water
  17. firm — steady
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. last — to go on
  22. spring — a coil
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. spring — the season

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