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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. club — for dancing
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. spring — a coil
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. lean — thin
  10. tube — the underground
  11. tube — a container
  12. staff — employees
  13. staff — employees
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. club — for golf
  16. club — a group
  17. spring — the season
  18. spring — of water
  19. lean — to bend
  20. lie — to recline
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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