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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: rest · game · deal · fan · date · tube · rash · ground

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. tube — the underground
  3. ground — the earth
  4. rash — a series
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. rest — what's left
  9. rest — what's left
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. rash — hasty
  12. rest — a break
  13. ground — crushed
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. game — a match
  16. deal — to handle
  17. date — the fruit
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. game — wild animals
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. tube — a container
  24. date — on the calendar

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