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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. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. tear — from crying
  3. ball — a dance
  4. tear — from crying
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. tube — a container
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. tube — the underground
  12. kid — to tease
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. tear — to rip
  16. chair — a leader
  17. ball — a great time
  18. kid — child

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