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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. saw — the tool
  3. tube — a container
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. chip — to eat
  8. march — the month
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. kid — child
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. march — music
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. saw — the tool
  15. chip — for betting
  16. march — the month
  17. bark — to shout
  18. tube — the underground

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