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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. last — finally
  6. sharp — clever
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. last — final
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. stem — to come from
  11. tube — a container
  12. tube — the underground
  13. hand — help
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. plane — a tool
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. pound — a weight
  21. last — to go on
  22. hand — in cards
  23. snap — to click
  24. sharp — exactly

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