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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. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. mug — to rob
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. tube — the underground
  6. clip — a video
  7. mug — a face
  8. clip — to cut
  9. tube — a container
  10. clip — for paper
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. cold — not warm
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. craft — a skill
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. stem — to come from
  21. craft — boats
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. cold — an illness
  24. chair — a leader

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