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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 120 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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. march — the month
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. land — to come down
  5. bear — the animal
  6. tube — a container
  7. cold — not warm
  8. last — final
  9. land — a country
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. cold — an illness
  12. last — finally
  13. press — newspapers
  14. press — to push
  15. land — ground
  16. march — the month
  17. stem — to come from
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. press — a publisher
  21. bear — the animal
  22. last — to go on
  23. march — music
  24. tube — the underground

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