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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 need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. spell — letters
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. tube — the underground
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. spell — a short time
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. tube — a container
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. spell — magic
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. pitch — completely
  17. clip — for paper
  18. wake — a trail
  19. prune — to trim
  20. clip — to cut
  21. clip — a video
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. prune — to trim

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