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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. band — a ring
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. stock — shares
  6. tube — a container
  7. stem — to come from
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. land — a country
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. band — a music group
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. chest — of your body
  15. chest — a box
  16. chest — of your body
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. land — to come down
  20. tube — the underground
  21. land — ground
  22. stock — goods
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. straw — a straw man

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