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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. When will it ________________ you to start?
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — to fit
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. mate — a partner
  4. pop — to visit
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. object — an aim
  7. land — to come down
  8. suit — in cards
  9. object — to protest
  10. pop — soda
  11. tube — the underground
  12. cold — not warm
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. mate — to breed
  15. pop — music
  16. tube — a container
  17. suit — clothes
  18. foot — a measure
  19. object — a thing
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. mate — a friend
  22. land — ground
  23. land — a country
  24. cold — an illness

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