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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 116 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. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. pit — in a race
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. kid — to tease
  6. kick — in football
  7. kid — child
  8. tube — a container
  9. band — a music group
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. stem — to come from
  12. tube — the underground
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. pit — a hole
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. mine — for digging
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. band — a ring
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. straw — dry grass

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