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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 116 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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. present — a gift
  3. staff — employees
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. present — the time now
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. spring — a coil
  8. fall — to drop
  9. tube — the underground
  10. fall — to drop
  11. staff — employees
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. spring — the season
  15. net — after costs
  16. spring — of water
  17. staff — a stick
  18. net — in sport
  19. net — for catching
  20. fall — the season
  21. tube — a container
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. present — there
  24. cabinet — ministers

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