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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'll be taking the ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. tube — the underground
  3. ground — crushed
  4. bound — tied together
  5. ground — a position
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. tube — a container
  12. kid — to tease
  13. plane — a tool
  14. bound — obliged
  15. bark — to shout
  16. perch — the fish
  17. bound — certain
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. ground — the earth
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. kid — child
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. plane — an aircraft

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