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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. bass — low music
  3. snap — to click
  4. bass — the fish
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. shower — rain
  7. perch — the fish
  8. prune — to trim
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. shower — to wash
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. tube — the underground
  20. tube — a container
  21. prune — to trim
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. coach — a trainer

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