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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. tube — a container
  3. season — in sport
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. bark — to shout
  6. cell — a phone
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. tear — from crying
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. tube — the underground
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. season — of the year
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. present — the time now
  17. wax — to grow
  18. tear — from crying
  19. pitch — completely
  20. tear — to rip
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. cell — in biology
  23. present — a gift
  24. cell — in a prison

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