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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: last · game · wave · land · fall · cap · tube · ball

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. ball — a dance
  3. last — finally
  4. cap — of ice
  5. game — wild animals
  6. cap — a lid
  7. ball — a great time
  8. tube — a container
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. land — ground
  11. tube — the underground
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. cap — a hat
  15. game — a match
  16. fall — to drop
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. land — to come down
  19. last — final
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. fall — to drop
  22. last — to go on
  23. fall — the season
  24. land — a country

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