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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. cell — in biology
  3. cell — a phone
  4. tube — a container
  5. lean — to bend
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. current — happening now
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. current — of water
  10. current — electric
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. mine — for digging
  13. cold — not warm
  14. wound — an injury
  15. cold — an illness
  16. tube — the underground
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. wound — an injury
  19. land — to come down
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. land — a country
  22. land — ground
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. lean — thin

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