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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 124 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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. cap — a hat
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. cap — of ice
  5. cold — an illness
  6. tube — the underground
  7. kid — to tease
  8. kid — child
  9. bulb — for light
  10. sharp — clever
  11. mate — to breed
  12. mate — a friend
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. bulb — for light
  15. mate — a partner
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. cold — not warm
  18. cap — a lid
  19. tube — a container
  20. present — the time now
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. present — there
  24. present — a gift

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