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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. drill — a practice
  5. wake — a trail
  6. tube — a container
  7. deal — to handle
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. bat — the animal
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. drill — the tool
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. date — the fruit
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. stand — to bear
  21. tube — the underground
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. drill — army training

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