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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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. ground — the earth
  3. rest — a break
  4. spring — the season
  5. present — a gift
  6. spring — of water
  7. rest — what's left
  8. prune — to trim
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. tube — the underground
  11. chest — of your body
  12. chest — of your body
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. tube — a container
  15. ground — a position
  16. prune — to trim
  17. present — there
  18. spring — a coil
  19. rest — what's left
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. present — the time now
  22. ground — crushed
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. chest — a box

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