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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 120 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'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. rush — hurry
  3. tube — the underground
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. cue — a signal
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. file — a line of people
  10. cue — for pool
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. chest — a box
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. chest — of your body
  19. chest — of your body
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. file — a document
  22. tube — a container
  23. file — a tool
  24. fan — a supporter

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