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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. When will it ________________ you to start?
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. bat — the animal
  3. march — music
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. rock — music
  8. rock — a stone
  9. perch — the fish
  10. tube — a container
  11. suit — clothes
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. cold — not warm
  14. suit — in cards
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. march — the month
  17. suit — to fit
  18. cold — an illness
  19. tube — the underground
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. stem — to come from
  24. march — the month

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