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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 must've been a ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. last — finally
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. spring — a coil
  7. season — in sport
  8. tube — the underground
  9. row — to paddle
  10. rush — hurry
  11. row — a line
  12. season — of the year
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. last — final
  15. last — to go on
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. spring — of water
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. spring — the season
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. tube — a container
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. stem — to come from

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