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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. land — ground
  5. bulb — for light
  6. clip — to cut
  7. clip — for paper
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. tube — a container
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. land — a country
  13. clip — a video
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. perch — the fish
  16. bark — to shout
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. tube — the underground
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. bulb — for light
  21. game — wild animals
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. land — to come down
  24. game — a match

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