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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. tube — a container
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. tear — from crying
  6. tube — the underground
  7. tear — to rip
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. sharp — clever
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. tear — from crying
  19. pitch — completely
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. fork — in a road
  24. branch — a division

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