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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. cell — in biology
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. track — a song
  6. tube — a container
  7. cell — a phone
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. rash — hasty
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. cold — an illness
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. track — a path
  14. date — the fruit
  15. cold — not warm
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. tube — the underground
  19. rash — a series
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. pass — a permit
  23. track — to keep track
  24. date — on the calendar

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