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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 got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. cold — an illness
  4. fine — high quality
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. file — a line of people
  7. fine — all right
  8. key — for a lock
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. cold — not warm
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. key — the most important part
  13. cell — in biology
  14. plane — a tool
  15. cell — a phone
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. file — a document
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. tube — a container
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. tube — the underground
  22. file — a tool
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. key — in music

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