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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. clip — for paper
  4. rest — what's left
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. tube — the underground
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. clip — to cut
  11. bark — to shout
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. clip — a video
  14. game — a match
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. rest — what's left
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. tube — a container
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. rest — a break
  24. plane — a tool

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