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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. pop — soda
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. cap — a hat
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. cap — of ice
  9. pop — music
  10. chair — a leader
  11. pop — to visit
  12. tube — a container
  13. mug — a face
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. cap — a lid
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. tube — the underground
  21. mug — to rob
  22. bat — the animal
  23. mug — a cup
  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