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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 need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. sharp — clever
  4. hand — in cards
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. clip — for paper
  7. snap — to click
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. tube — the underground
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. cue — a signal
  15. clip — to cut
  16. cue — for pool
  17. clip — a video
  18. hand — help
  19. cue — a hint
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. deal — to handle
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. tube — a container
  24. racket — for tennis

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