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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. prune — to trim
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. ground — a position
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. land — a country
  9. snap — to click
  10. sharp — clever
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. ground — the earth
  14. board — to get on
  15. tube — the underground
  16. band — a ring
  17. ground — crushed
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. prune — to trim
  20. land — to come down
  21. land — ground
  22. board — a committee
  23. tube — a container
  24. band — a music group

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