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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. tube — the underground
  4. key — for a lock
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. kick — in football
  8. row — a line
  9. tube — a container
  10. land — a country
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. key — in music
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. land — ground
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. key — the most important part
  19. land — to come down
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. bat — the animal
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. row — to paddle

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