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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. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. game — a match
  3. land — a country
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. court — of law
  8. tube — a container
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. cell — in biology
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. pass — a permit
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. game — wild animals
  16. land — ground
  17. land — to come down
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. court — of a king
  20. cell — a phone
  21. pound — a weight
  22. court — for sport
  23. tube — the underground
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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