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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 want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. tube — the underground
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. mate — a partner
  7. season — in sport
  8. season — of the year
  9. file — a document
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. file — a line of people
  12. spring — the season
  13. mate — a friend
  14. file — a tool
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. spring — a coil
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. spring — of water
  22. bark — to shout
  23. kick — in football
  24. mate — to breed

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