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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 116 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 sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. tube — the underground
  4. snap — to click
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. cue — a signal
  8. ball — a great time
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. cue — for pool
  11. chip — to eat
  12. wind — moving air
  13. cue — a hint
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. chip — for betting
  17. bark — to shout
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. tube — a container
  20. ball — a dance
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. wind — moving air

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