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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'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. pit — a hole
  4. track — a song
  5. shower — to wash
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. track — to keep track
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. snap — to click
  10. track — a path
  11. pit — in a race
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. tube — a container
  15. cue — for pool
  16. spell — a short time
  17. tube — the underground
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. bulb — for light
  20. cue — a signal
  21. shower — rain
  22. bulb — for light
  23. spell — magic
  24. spell — letters

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