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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 need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. vault — a safe
  3. cold — not warm
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. tube — the underground
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. tube — a container
  8. clip — for paper
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. pound — a weight
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. clip — a video
  13. game — wild animals
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. cold — an illness
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. clip — to cut
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. game — a match
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. pound — to hit hard

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