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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'll be taking the ________________.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. tube — a container
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. cell — a phone
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. chair — a leader
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. file — a document
  16. file — a line of people
  17. game — a match
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. game — wild animals
  20. toast — bread
  21. stem — to come from
  22. cell — in biology
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. file — a tool

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