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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. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. lean — thin
  4. pit — a hole
  5. cold — not warm
  6. tube — a container
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. cold — an illness
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. lean — to bend
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. tube — the underground
  23. pit — in a race
  24. plane — a tool

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