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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. rest — what's left
  4. court — for sport
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. tube — a container
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. file — a document
  9. cap — a hat
  10. rest — what's left
  11. rest — a break
  12. court — of a king
  13. court — of law
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. file — a line of people
  16. craft — a skill
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. file — a tool
  19. craft — boats
  20. cap — of ice
  21. tube — the underground
  22. bark — to shout
  23. cap — a lid
  24. coach — a trainer

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