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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. tube — a container
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. game — a match
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. mark — a trace
  9. band — a music group
  10. tube — the underground
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. mark — a grade
  14. kid — child
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. game — wild animals
  18. cap — of ice
  19. band — a ring
  20. bark — to shout
  21. cap — a lid
  22. cap — a hat
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. kid — to tease

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