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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 cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. tear — from crying
  3. snap — to click
  4. roll — a cake
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. craft — a skill
  7. tube — a container
  8. tear — from crying
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. saw — the tool
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. pit — in a race
  13. tube — the underground
  14. tear — to rip
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. saw — the tool
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. roll — a list
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. pit — a hole
  24. craft — boats

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