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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 function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. press — newspapers
  3. present — the time now
  4. tube — a container
  5. row — a line
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. chest — a box
  8. capital — money
  9. capital — a city
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. file — a document
  12. present — a gift
  13. chest — of your body
  14. rash — hasty
  15. chest — of your body
  16. file — a line of people
  17. press — to push
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. rash — a series
  20. file — a tool
  21. present — there
  22. row — to paddle
  23. tube — the underground
  24. press — a publisher

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