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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'll be taking the ________________.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. mate — a friend
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. cap — a lid
  5. cap — of ice
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. mate — to breed
  8. spring — the season
  9. spring — of water
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. spring — a coil
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. mate — a partner
  14. stand — to bear
  15. bulb — for light
  16. ground — the earth
  17. cap — a hat
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. ground — crushed
  21. ground — a position
  22. tube — a container
  23. bulb — for light
  24. perch — the fish

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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