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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. kid — child
  3. land — ground
  4. tear — from crying
  5. tube — the underground
  6. ball — a dance
  7. kid — to tease
  8. tear — from crying
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. land — to come down
  11. craft — a skill
  12. tear — to rip
  13. swing — to play on
  14. craft — boats
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. ball — a great time
  17. tube — a container
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. swing — in golf
  20. swing — music
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. land — a country
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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