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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. cue — a hint
  3. press — a publisher
  4. press — to push
  5. fall — the season
  6. clip — for paper
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. face — part of the head
  9. wax — to grow
  10. face — to confront
  11. cue — for pool
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. clip — a video
  14. cue — a signal
  15. face — to point toward
  16. press — newspapers
  17. tube — the underground
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. fall — to drop
  21. date — the fruit
  22. fall — to drop
  23. tube — a container
  24. clip — to cut

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