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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. ground — crushed
  3. fine — high quality
  4. file — a document
  5. tube — the underground
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. net — for catching
  8. root — the cause
  9. net — after costs
  10. fine — all right
  11. root — of a word
  12. file — a tool
  13. can — to be able to
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. ground — a position
  16. root — of a plant
  17. file — a line of people
  18. tube — a container
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. can — a tin
  21. ground — the earth
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. can — a tin
  24. net — in sport

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