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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. tube — the underground
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. face — to confront
  8. lean — thin
  9. kid — to tease
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. chair — a leader
  13. can — to be able to
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. face — to point toward
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. can — a tin
  18. face — part of the head
  19. can — a tin
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. stem — to come from
  22. kid — child
  23. tube — a container
  24. lean — to bend

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