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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. snap — to click
  4. sharp — clever
  5. bear — the animal
  6. tube — a container
  7. scale — size or range
  8. rest — what's left
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. bear — the animal
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. tube — the underground
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. scale — in music
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. rest — what's left
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. rest — a break
  24. hide — to keep secret

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