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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 put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. pop — soda
  3. chair — a leader
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. tube — a container
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. rest — what's left
  8. pop — music
  9. rock — music
  10. rest — a break
  11. tube — the underground
  12. rest — what's left
  13. rock — a stone
  14. snap — to click
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. land — to come down
  17. pop — to visit
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. fall — to drop
  20. land — a country
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. fall — the season
  23. fall — to drop
  24. land — ground

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