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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. pit — in a race
  5. land — ground
  6. ball — a great time
  7. pit — a hole
  8. spring — a coil
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. land — to come down
  12. land — a country
  13. spring — the season
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. tube — a container
  17. charge — electricity
  18. charge — in control
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. tube — the underground
  21. spring — of water
  22. ball — a dance
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. charge — a price

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