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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. wind — moving air
  3. tube — a container
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. shower — rain
  7. sharp — clever
  8. press — to push
  9. wind — moving air
  10. cell — in biology
  11. tube — the underground
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. season — in sport
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. shower — to wash
  18. cell — a phone
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. press — a publisher
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. press — newspapers
  23. season — of the year
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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