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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 116 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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. bear — the animal
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. tube — the underground
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. prune — to trim
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. march — the month
  9. prune — to trim
  10. spell — a short time
  11. spell — letters
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. bear — the animal
  14. march — music
  15. cold — an illness
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. march — the month
  19. spell — magic
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. cold — not warm
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. tube — a container
  24. pass — a permit

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