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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 116 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: ball · tear · tube · saw · bowl · swing · kid · game

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. kid — to tease
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. ball — a dance
  7. swing — to play on
  8. swing — music
  9. swing — in golf
  10. game — wild animals
  11. kid — child
  12. game — a match
  13. tear — from crying
  14. tear — to rip
  15. saw — the tool
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. tear — from crying
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. tube — the underground
  22. tube — a container
  23. saw — the tool
  24. game — a kind of play

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