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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 need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. face — to point toward
  3. cell — in biology
  4. clip — for paper
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. tube — the underground
  7. capital — money
  8. face — to confront
  9. bulb — for light
  10. bulb — for light
  11. capital — a city
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. clip — to cut
  14. tube — a container
  15. charge — in control
  16. cap — of ice
  17. face — part of the head
  18. charge — electricity
  19. cell — a phone
  20. cap — a lid
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. clip — a video
  23. charge — a price
  24. cap — a hat

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