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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. field — farmland
  4. shower — rain
  5. tube — the underground
  6. field — a subject
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. field — for sport
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. bark — to shout
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. pop — music
  20. tube — a container
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. shower — to wash
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. pop — to visit

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