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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.

Words on the sheet
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: mate · tube · march · craft · pitch · mine · jam · spring

  1. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  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. jam — a tight spot
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. tube — a container
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. spring — a coil
  7. mate — a partner
  8. spring — the season
  9. spring — of water
  10. mate — to breed
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. march — the month
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. pitch — completely
  16. mate — a friend
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. craft — boats
  19. march — the month
  20. march — music
  21. craft — a skill
  22. mine — for digging
  23. tube — the underground
  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