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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. tube — the underground
  4. tube — a container
  5. spring — of water
  6. staff — employees
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. staff — employees
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. current — happening now
  11. ball — a great time
  12. wake — a trail
  13. ball — a dance
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. current — electric
  16. spring — the season
  17. spring — a coil
  18. staff — a stick
  19. current — of water
  20. kick — in football
  21. root — of a plant
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. root — the cause
  24. root — of a word

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