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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 want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. can — a tin
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. spring — of water
  7. staff — employees
  8. clip — a video
  9. spring — a coil
  10. staff — employees
  11. clip — for paper
  12. deal — to handle
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. spring — the season
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. clip — to cut
  18. bat — the animal
  19. tube — the underground
  20. staff — a stick
  21. can — to be able to
  22. stem — to come from
  23. tube — in a tire
  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