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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. wind — moving air
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. press — a publisher
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. wind — moving air
  9. tube — a container
  10. tube — the underground
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. stem — to come from
  14. prune — to trim
  15. press — newspapers
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. prune — to trim
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. press — to push
  24. bat — for baseball

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