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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. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. root — of a word
  4. tube — a container
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. lean — to bend
  7. press — a publisher
  8. tube — the underground
  9. press — to push
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. root — of a plant
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. dip — to sink
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. root — the cause
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. mine — for digging
  18. drill — a practice
  19. drill — army training
  20. press — newspapers
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. drill — the tool
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. lean — thin

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