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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. capital — money
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. mug — a face
  7. capital — a city
  8. tear — to rip
  9. tube — the underground
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. content — happy
  14. mug — to rob
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. tube — a container
  17. mine — for digging
  18. tear — from crying
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. content — the amount
  21. stem — to come from
  22. tear — from crying
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. mug — a cup

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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