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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. ground — the earth
  4. staff — employees
  5. hand — in cards
  6. tube — the underground
  7. swing — in golf
  8. ground — a position
  9. tube — a container
  10. plane — a tool
  11. swing — to play on
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. staff — a stick
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. hand — help
  16. file — a line of people
  17. staff — employees
  18. file — a tool
  19. ground — crushed
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. swing — music
  22. file — a document
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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