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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'll be taking the ________________.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. land — a country
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. bat — the animal
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. land — ground
  9. pit — in a race
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. object — a thing
  12. object — an aim
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. land — to come down
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. object — to protest
  18. tube — a container
  19. pit — a hole
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. snap — to click
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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