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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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. mark — a grade
  3. staff — a stick
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. mark — a trace
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. snap — to click
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. tube — a container
  11. tube — the underground
  12. branch — a division
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. bore — to drill
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. staff — employees
  17. staff — employees
  18. cold — an illness
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. cold — not warm
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. bore — to tire
  24. branch — of a tree

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