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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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468
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: pit · kid · spring · cabinet · roll · wave · tube · bore

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. roll — a cake
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. pit — in a race
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. tube — the underground
  9. spring — a coil
  10. roll — a list
  11. pit — a hole
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. kid — to tease
  14. spring — of water
  15. kid — child
  16. bore — to drill
  17. bore — to tire
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. tube — a container
  24. tube — in a tire

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