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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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. bound — obliged
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. file — a tool
  5. swing — in golf
  6. cold — not warm
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. cold — an illness
  9. file — a document
  10. chair — a leader
  11. pop — soda
  12. file — a line of people
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. pop — to visit
  16. bound — tied together
  17. tube — a container
  18. pop — music
  19. tube — the underground
  20. swing — music
  21. swing — to play on
  22. bulb — for light
  23. bound — certain
  24. bulb — for light

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