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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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. mark — a grade
  3. pit — in a race
  4. tube — a container
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. drill — the tool
  7. clip — a video
  8. clip — to cut
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. pit — a hole
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. bat — the animal
  13. tube — the underground
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. mark — a trace
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. clip — for paper
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. drill — a practice
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. drill — army training

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