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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. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. wind — moving air
  6. staff — employees
  7. staff — employees
  8. tube — a container
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. mark — a trace
  11. wind — moving air
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. clip — for paper
  14. press — to push
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. tube — the underground
  17. roll — a list
  18. staff — a stick
  19. mark — a grade
  20. roll — a cake
  21. clip — to cut
  22. press — newspapers
  23. press — a publisher
  24. clip — a video

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