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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 116 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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. file — a tool
  3. spell — magic
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. staff — a stick
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. rest — what's left
  8. tube — the underground
  9. snap — to click
  10. file — a document
  11. rest — a break
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. branch — a division
  14. file — a line of people
  15. rest — what's left
  16. staff — employees
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. staff — employees
  19. spell — a short time
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. spell — letters
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. tube — a container

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