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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. rash — hasty
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. clip — a video
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. mine — for digging
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pit — in a race
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. deal — to handle
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. rash — a series
  15. clip — to cut
  16. tube — a container
  17. clip — for paper
  18. can — a tin
  19. pit — a hole
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. tube — the underground
  23. can — to be able to
  24. can — a tin

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