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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. mine — for digging
  3. current — electric
  4. wind — moving air
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. tube — the underground
  7. lie — to recline
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. tube — a container
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. current — happening now
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. wind — moving air
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. current — of water
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. bat — the animal
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. sharp — clever

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