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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. pass — a permit
  7. cell — in biology
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. hand — in cards
  11. cap — a hat
  12. mate — a partner
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. cap — a lid
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. tube — a container
  18. cell — a phone
  19. hand — help
  20. bark — to shout
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. tube — the underground
  23. mate — a friend
  24. cap — of ice

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