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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. degree — an amount
  6. shower — to wash
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. tube — the underground
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. degree — temperature
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. tube — a container
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. stand — to bear
  18. bark — to shout
  19. content — the amount
  20. shower — rain
  21. content — happy
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. degree — from a university

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