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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. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. prune — to trim
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. track — to keep track
  6. prune — to trim
  7. last — final
  8. last — finally
  9. pound — a weight
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. track — a song
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. last — to go on
  15. track — a path
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. perch — the fish
  19. tube — the underground
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. mine — for digging
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. lash — an eyelash

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