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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've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. prune — to trim
  4. capital — a city
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. tube — a container
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. track — a song
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. track — a path
  16. tube — the underground
  17. chair — a leader
  18. fork — in a road
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. prune — to trim
  21. track — to keep track
  22. capital — money
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. fork — to eat with

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