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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: staff · date · tube · cold · jam · pass · fall · club

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. staff — employees
  3. tube — the underground
  4. staff — employees
  5. club — for golf
  6. fall — to drop
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. tube — a container
  9. cold — an illness
  10. club — a group
  11. fall — the season
  12. fall — to drop
  13. date — the fruit
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. staff — a stick
  19. club — for dancing
  20. cold — not warm
  21. pass — a permit
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. date — on the calendar

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