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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 am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. ground — the earth
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. stem — to come from
  6. tube — the underground
  7. clip — to cut
  8. clip — a video
  9. ground — a position
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. ground — crushed
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. fall — the season
  20. clip — for paper
  21. tube — a container
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. fall — to drop
  24. fall — to drop

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