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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 116 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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. object — a thing
  3. file — a document
  4. tube — the underground
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. tube — a container
  9. object — an aim
  10. ground — the earth
  11. ground — crushed
  12. scale — size or range
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. file — a line of people
  15. scale — in music
  16. court — of a king
  17. clip — for paper
  18. object — to protest
  19. file — a tool
  20. court — of law
  21. clip — to cut
  22. court — for sport
  23. ground — a position
  24. clip — a video

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