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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 120 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 had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. cold — an illness
  3. vault — a safe
  4. bank — for money
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. tube — the underground
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. cold — not warm
  9. present — the time now
  10. spring — the season
  11. bound — tied together
  12. bank — for money
  13. present — there
  14. tube — a container
  15. spring — of water
  16. bound — obliged
  17. bound — certain
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. present — a gift
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. bank — of a river
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. spring — a coil

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