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

Word bank: tube · spring · race · temple · bat · cue · deal · perch

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. tube — the underground
  3. spring — of water
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. spring — the season
  7. race — the arms race
  8. bat — the animal
  9. tube — a container
  10. perch — the fish
  11. deal — to handle
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. spring — a coil
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. race — humankind
  16. cue — for pool
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. cue — a hint
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. race — a contest
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. cue — a signal
  24. bat — for baseball

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