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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 116 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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. tube — the underground
  4. deal — to handle
  5. snap — to click
  6. club — for dancing
  7. tube — a container
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. cold — an illness
  11. club — a group
  12. club — for golf
  13. rest — what's left
  14. rest — a break
  15. press — to push
  16. staff — employees
  17. rest — what's left
  18. cold — not warm
  19. staff — a stick
  20. press — newspapers
  21. press — a publisher
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. staff — employees

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