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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. cold — an illness
  3. face — part of the head
  4. cold — not warm
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. saw — the tool
  7. cap — a hat
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. face — to point toward
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. bore — to drill
  13. spring — the season
  14. saw — the tool
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. bore — to tire
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. tube — the underground
  19. spring — of water
  20. tube — a container
  21. spring — a coil
  22. cap — of ice
  23. face — to confront
  24. cap — a lid

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