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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 cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. prune — to trim
  3. cue — a hint
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. ground — crushed
  7. ground — the earth
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. pound — a weight
  11. prune — to trim
  12. kid — to tease
  13. capital — money
  14. ground — a position
  15. cue — a signal
  16. tube — the underground
  17. cue — for pool
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. capital — a city
  20. tube — a container
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. wake — a trail
  23. kid — child
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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