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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. mine — for digging
  4. court — of a king
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. bark — to shout
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. tube — a container
  9. cap — of ice
  10. court — of law
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. pass — a permit
  14. bat — the animal
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. cap — a lid
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. tube — the underground
  22. cap — a hat
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. court — for sport

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