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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: tube · bat · toast · mug · hand · spring · swing · jam

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. hand — in cards
  3. swing — music
  4. toast — bread
  5. bat — the animal
  6. tube — the underground
  7. spring — a coil
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. mug — to rob
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. swing — in golf
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. spring — the season
  15. swing — to play on
  16. tube — a container
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. jam — to spread on bread
  19. mug — a cup
  20. spring — of water
  21. hand — help
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. mug — a face
  24. jam — in traffic

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