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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. fall — the season
  4. pit — a hole
  5. fall — to drop
  6. spring — a coil
  7. fall — to drop
  8. bulb — for light
  9. pit — in a race
  10. spring — the season
  11. tube — a container
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. wound — an injury
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. bulb — for light
  17. wound — an injury
  18. spring — of water

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