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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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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: deal · tube · wind · mine · kid · racket · net · bear

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. tube — a container
  6. net — after costs
  7. net — for catching
  8. wind — moving air
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. mine — for digging
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. wind — moving air
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. net — in sport
  15. bear — the animal
  16. tube — the underground
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. deal — to handle
  19. kid — to tease
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. kid — child
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. bear — the animal

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