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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. mate — a friend
  3. court — for sport
  4. tube — a container
  5. court — of law
  6. cell — a phone
  7. land — a country
  8. cap — a hat
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. land — to come down
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. land — ground
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. court — of a king
  16. lean — thin
  17. cap — of ice
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. lean — to bend
  20. cell — in biology
  21. mate — to breed
  22. tube — the underground
  23. mate — a partner
  24. cap — a lid

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