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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. chest — of your body
  3. tube — a container
  4. cell — a phone
  5. roll — a cake
  6. chest — a box
  7. march — music
  8. march — the month
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. roll — a list
  11. march — the month
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. cell — in biology
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. chest — of your body
  16. tube — the underground
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. object — a thing
  23. object — an aim
  24. object — to protest

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