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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. perch — the fish
  6. file — a line of people
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. file — a document
  9. rash — a series
  10. net — after costs
  11. file — a tool
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. bulb — for light
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. net — in sport
  17. bulb — for light
  18. net — for catching
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. rash — hasty
  21. tube — the underground
  22. plane — a tool
  23. chair — a leader
  24. tube — a container

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