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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: tube · craft · can · game · kick · spring · chest · date

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. spring — a coil
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. can — a tin
  5. date — the fruit
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. chest — of your body
  8. spring — of water
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. chest — of your body
  11. can — to be able to
  12. craft — a skill
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. tube — a container
  15. craft — boats
  16. tube — the underground
  17. kick — in football
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. chest — a box
  21. can — a tin
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. game — a match
  24. spring — the season

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