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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 would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. land — a country
  4. press — to push
  5. rest — what's left
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. tube — a container
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. press — newspapers
  10. rest — what's left
  11. club — for dancing
  12. clip — a video
  13. press — a publisher
  14. pitch — completely
  15. club — for golf
  16. tube — the underground
  17. land — ground
  18. clip — to cut
  19. club — a group
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. land — to come down
  22. kid — child
  23. kid — to tease
  24. clip — for paper

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