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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 keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. track — to keep track
  3. drill — the tool
  4. tube — a container
  5. track — a song
  6. mug — a face
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. wound — an injury
  9. drill — a practice
  10. spring — a coil
  11. mug — a cup
  12. spring — of water
  13. track — a path
  14. cell — in biology
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. tube — the underground
  17. cell — a phone
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. drill — army training
  20. wound — an injury
  21. snap — to click
  22. mug — to rob
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. spring — the season

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