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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. wax — to grow
  3. clip — to cut
  4. chair — a leader
  5. capital — money
  6. bear — the animal
  7. bear — the animal
  8. tube — the underground
  9. tube — a container
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. rule — government
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. capital — a city
  17. clip — for paper
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. board — a committee
  21. board — to get on
  22. clip — a video
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. rule — a law

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