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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'll be taking the ________________.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. lean — to bend
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. tube — a container
  7. kid — to tease
  8. lean — thin
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. pass — a permit
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. key — in music
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. kid — child
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. bat — the animal
  21. key — the most important part
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. key — for a lock
  24. bark — to shout

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