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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 120 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. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. charge — in control
  3. spring — of water
  4. charge — a price
  5. tube — the underground
  6. charge — electricity
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. spring — the season
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. tube — a container
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. bear — the animal
  14. bear — the animal
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. cold — an illness
  17. craft — boats
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. spring — a coil
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. craft — a skill
  24. cold — not warm

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