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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  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 — in a tire
  2. tube — a container
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. track — a path
  9. date — the fruit
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. track — to keep track
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. bark — to shout
  14. tube — the underground
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. bat — the animal
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. bark — of a tree
  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