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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'll be taking the ________________.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. pit — in a race
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. shower — to wash
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. staff — employees
  7. clip — to cut
  8. cap — a lid
  9. staff — a stick
  10. mug — to rob
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. cap — a hat
  13. tube — a container
  14. clip — for paper
  15. staff — employees
  16. cap — of ice
  17. mug — a face
  18. mug — a cup
  19. pit — a hole
  20. clip — a video
  21. ball — a dance
  22. ball — a great time
  23. shower — rain
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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