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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. pound — a weight
  3. tube — a container
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. squash — to crush
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. wound — an injury
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. field — a subject
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. field — farmland
  16. squash — the sport
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. field — for sport
  19. tube — the underground
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. snap — to click
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. wound — an injury

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