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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. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. swing — in golf
  3. mate — to breed
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. land — ground
  7. scale — size or range
  8. mate — a friend
  9. mate — a partner
  10. tube — a container
  11. scale — in music
  12. swing — music
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. cue — a signal
  16. land — to come down
  17. tube — the underground
  18. cue — for pool
  19. mine — for digging
  20. cue — a hint
  21. bark — to shout
  22. land — a country
  23. swing — to play on
  24. bark — of a tree

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