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

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. mark — a trace
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. fork — in a road
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. clip — a video
  10. object — to protest
  11. tube — the underground
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. object — an aim
  15. lean — to bend
  16. mark — a grade
  17. clip — for paper
  18. clip — to cut
  19. lean — thin
  20. bat — the animal
  21. object — a thing
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. tube — a container
  24. patient — a sick person

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