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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 want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. row — to paddle
  5. wake — a trail
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. tube — the underground
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. hand — in cards
  11. march — the month
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. hand — help
  14. march — music
  15. charge — in control
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. march — the month
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. charge — electricity
  20. row — a line
  21. press — to push
  22. charge — a price
  23. press — a publisher
  24. press — newspapers

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