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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. mine — for digging
  3. capital — money
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. tube — a container
  7. tube — the underground
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. chest — of your body
  12. capital — a city
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. present — a gift
  15. present — the time now
  16. present — there
  17. kid — to tease
  18. chest — a box
  19. chest — of your body
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. kid — child

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