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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. firm — decided
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. firm — a company
  8. spring — the season
  9. charge — electricity
  10. charge — a price
  11. mine — for digging
  12. spring — a coil
  13. firm — steady
  14. rush — hurry
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. charge — in control
  18. spring — of water
  19. tube — the underground
  20. bat — the animal
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. date — the fruit
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. tube — a container

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