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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 sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. bark — to shout
  3. net — in sport
  4. tube — the underground
  5. bulb — for light
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. tube — a container
  8. net — after costs
  9. hand — help
  10. net — for catching
  11. cell — in biology
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. hand — in cards
  14. bulb — for light
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. cell — a phone
  18. hand — part of the body

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