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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. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. cold — not warm
  4. cold — an illness
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. tube — a container
  8. key — in music
  9. saw — the tool
  10. mate — to breed
  11. key — for a lock
  12. land — a country
  13. land — ground
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. mate — a partner
  16. mate — a friend
  17. saw — the tool
  18. tear — from crying
  19. land — to come down
  20. tear — from crying
  21. key — the most important part
  22. tear — to rip
  23. tube — the underground
  24. cold — the Cold War

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