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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 want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. prune — to trim
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. squash — to crush
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. tube — the underground
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. tear — from crying
  11. fork — in a road
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. squash — the sport
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. tear — to rip
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. prune — to trim
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. tear — from crying
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. sharp — clever

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