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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. present — the time now
  4. wound — an injury
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. present — a gift
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. branch — a division
  9. tube — the underground
  10. bark — to shout
  11. row — to paddle
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. wound — an injury
  14. tube — a container
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. present — there
  17. bear — the animal
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. bear — the animal
  21. pitch — completely
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. row — a line
  24. branch — of a bank

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