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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'll be taking the ________________.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. tube — the underground
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. last — final
  7. last — to go on
  8. tube — a container
  9. bound — obliged
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. last — finally
  12. file — a line of people
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. bound — certain
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. cell — in biology
  17. file — a tool
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. file — a document
  20. cell — a phone
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. bound — tied together
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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