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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. chair — a leader
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. spring — a coil
  5. roll — a cake
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. plane — a tool
  8. can — a tin
  9. row — to paddle
  10. tube — the underground
  11. bat — the animal
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. roll — a list
  15. spring — of water
  16. tube — a container
  17. can — a tin
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. can — to be able to
  21. row — a line
  22. spring — the season
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. bat — for baseball

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