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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. game — wild animals
  3. drill — army training
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. tear — from crying
  7. drill — the tool
  8. bark — to shout
  9. tube — a container
  10. sharp — clever
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. band — a ring
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. tube — the underground
  15. tear — from crying
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. bulb — for light
  18. bulb — for light
  19. game — a match
  20. band — a music group
  21. tear — to rip
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. drill — a practice

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