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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 120 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. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. last — to go on
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. last — finally
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. last — final
  7. pop — to visit
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. pop — music
  10. bank — of a river
  11. bark — to shout
  12. branch — a division
  13. pop — soda
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. tube — a container
  16. drill — a practice
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. drill — army training
  21. drill — the tool
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. bank — for money
  24. tube — the underground

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