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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 116 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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. mine — for digging
  5. clip — to cut
  6. clip — for paper
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. spring — the season
  10. press — to push
  11. press — newspapers
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. root — the cause
  14. tube — the underground
  15. cell — in biology
  16. root — of a word
  17. clip — a video
  18. spring — of water
  19. spring — a coil
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. cell — a phone
  23. press — a publisher
  24. root — of a plant

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