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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. ground — crushed
  3. fall — the season
  4. lean — to bend
  5. object — an aim
  6. ground — the earth
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. pit — a hole
  9. fall — to drop
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. fall — to drop
  12. ground — a position
  13. tube — a container
  14. pit — in a race
  15. scale — in music
  16. object — to protest
  17. scale — size or range
  18. row — a line
  19. object — a thing
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. tube — the underground
  23. row — to paddle
  24. lean — thin

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