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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  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. sharp — clever
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. clip — a video
  6. tube — a container
  7. clip — for paper
  8. rule — government
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. clip — to cut
  11. roll — a list
  12. roll — a cake
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. deal — to handle
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. bat — the animal
  20. rule — a law
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. tube — the underground
  23. date — the fruit
  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