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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. tube — the underground
  3. court — of a king
  4. swing — to play on
  5. pass — a permit
  6. file — a line of people
  7. tube — a container
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. swing — in golf
  10. file — a tool
  11. cue — for pool
  12. wind — moving air
  13. mine — for digging
  14. swing — music
  15. court — for sport
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. cue — a signal
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. file — a document
  21. cue — a hint
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. wind — moving air
  24. court — of law

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