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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. drill — the tool
  6. chip — to eat
  7. bat — the animal
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. cell — a phone
  10. drill — a practice
  11. cap — a hat
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. cap — a lid
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. cap — of ice
  17. cell — in biology
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. tube — a container
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. tube — the underground
  23. drill — army training
  24. chip — for betting

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