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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 want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. tube — a container
  3. ground — crushed
  4. net — for catching
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. ground — the earth
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. spring — the season
  10. mate — a partner
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. cell — a phone
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. ground — a position
  15. spring — a coil
  16. mate — to breed
  17. net — in sport
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. cell — in biology
  20. mate — a friend
  21. chair — a leader
  22. net — after costs
  23. spring — of water
  24. tube — the underground

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