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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. mug — a cup
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. last — to go on
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. tube — a container
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. last — finally
  12. bark — to shout
  13. march — the month
  14. mug — a face
  15. rash — a series
  16. last — final
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. march — music
  19. tube — the underground
  20. rash — hasty
  21. lean — to bend
  22. mug — to rob
  23. march — the month
  24. bowl — a football final

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