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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 need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. roll — a cake
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. file — a line of people
  9. file — a document
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. saw — the tool
  12. pitch — completely
  13. file — a tool
  14. deal — to handle
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. tear — from crying
  17. tube — the underground
  18. stem — to come from
  19. tear — to rip
  20. tear — from crying
  21. roll — a list
  22. saw — the tool
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. tube — a container

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