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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. tear — from crying
  3. stem — to come from
  4. court — of a king
  5. court — of law
  6. court — for sport
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. march — the month
  9. club — for dancing
  10. tear — to rip
  11. tear — from crying
  12. present — there
  13. march — music
  14. plane — a tool
  15. tube — a container
  16. club — for golf
  17. tube — the underground
  18. present — a gift
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. club — a group
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. present — the time now
  24. march — the month

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