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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'll be taking the ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. tube — the underground
  3. land — a country
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. mug — a face
  7. land — ground
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. roll — a list
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. roll — a cake
  12. mug — a cup
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. cold — an illness
  17. mug — to rob
  18. cold — not warm
  19. saw — the tool
  20. tube — a container
  21. land — to come down
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. saw — the tool
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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