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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. bore — to tire
  3. wax — to grow
  4. tube — the underground
  5. craft — a skill
  6. stock — goods
  7. band — a music group
  8. spring — a coil
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. spring — of water
  11. stock — shares
  12. bore — to drill
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. spring — the season
  19. craft — boats
  20. tube — a container
  21. band — a ring
  22. capital — money
  23. capital — a city
  24. stock — a soup base

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