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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 need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. chest — of your body
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. chip — for betting
  5. can — a tin
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. file — a line of people
  8. chip — to eat
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. season — of the year
  11. file — a tool
  12. tube — the underground
  13. chest — of your body
  14. can — to be able to
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. can — a tin
  18. wax — to grow
  19. tube — a container
  20. season — in sport
  21. chest — a box
  22. snap — to click
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. file — a document

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