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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. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. spring — a coil
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. tube — the underground
  6. spring — of water
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. rest — what's left
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. ground — the earth
  13. tube — a container
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. ground — a position
  16. spring — the season
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. ground — crushed
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. rest — what's left
  21. mine — for digging
  22. rest — a break
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. calf — a young animal

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