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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 120 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 want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. tube — the underground
  4. march — the month
  5. lean — thin
  6. drill — the tool
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. drill — army training
  10. prune — to trim
  11. march — the month
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. spring — a coil
  14. drill — a practice
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. march — music
  17. lean — to bend
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. spring — the season
  20. prune — to trim
  21. spring — of water
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. ruler — a monarch

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