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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. pass — a permit
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. spring — a coil
  5. land — ground
  6. cell — in biology
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. chest — of your body
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. spring — the season
  12. land — a country
  13. spring — of water
  14. branch — a division
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. land — to come down
  17. foot — a measure
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. chest — a box
  20. tube — a container
  21. cell — a phone
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. tube — the underground
  24. chest — of your body

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