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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: chest · net · fine · swing · tube · tear · deal · spell

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. fine — all right
  3. spell — a short time
  4. spell — magic
  5. swing — in golf
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. tear — from crying
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. swing — music
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. chest — of your body
  12. fine — high quality
  13. tube — the underground
  14. deal — to handle
  15. net — for catching
  16. chest — of your body
  17. chest — a box
  18. tear — from crying
  19. tear — to rip
  20. net — in sport
  21. tube — a container
  22. net — after costs
  23. swing — to play on
  24. deal — an agreement

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