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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 want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. net — in sport
  5. club — for dancing
  6. tear — to rip
  7. net — after costs
  8. tear — from crying
  9. tube — the underground
  10. net — for catching
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. spring — a coil
  13. bark — to shout
  14. track — a path
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. club — a group
  18. club — for golf
  19. track — to keep track
  20. tear — from crying
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. spring — the season
  23. spring — of water
  24. track — a song

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