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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. net — after costs
  3. rest — what's left
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. wind — moving air
  6. rest — what's left
  7. season — of the year
  8. chip — to eat
  9. wind — moving air
  10. tube — a container
  11. net — in sport
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. tube — the underground
  14. season — in sport
  15. net — for catching
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. rush — hurry
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. rest — a break
  20. saw — the tool
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. chip — for betting
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. saw — the tool

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