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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 120 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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. prune — to trim
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. vault — a safe
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. spring — of water
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. present — the time now
  9. bore — to tire
  10. prune — to trim
  11. present — a gift
  12. spring — a coil
  13. bore — to drill
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. tube — the underground
  16. present — there
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. tube — a container
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. spring — the season

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