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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. capital — a city
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. pit — in a race
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. spring — the season
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. net — for catching
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. staff — employees
  11. spring — a coil
  12. spring — of water
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. net — after costs
  16. staff — employees
  17. net — in sport
  18. tube — the underground
  19. snap — to click
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. staff — a stick
  22. capital — money
  23. pit — a hole
  24. tube — a container

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