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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 was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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. wind — moving air
  4. tube — the underground
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. swing — music
  8. rush — hurry
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. fork — in a road
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. swing — to play on
  17. mine — for digging
  18. bat — the animal
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. swing — in golf
  21. tube — a container
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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