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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. fall — to drop
  3. wound — an injury
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. tube — a container
  6. squash — to crush
  7. clip — a video
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. ball — a dance
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. bark — to shout
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. ball — a great time
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. clip — for paper
  17. fall — the season
  18. wound — an injury
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. squash — the sport
  22. clip — to cut
  23. fall — to drop
  24. 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