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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 120 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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. bound — obliged
  3. season — in sport
  4. pop — music
  5. tube — the underground
  6. bound — tied together
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. mate — a friend
  10. mate — a partner
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. tube — a container
  14. clip — to cut
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. bound — certain
  17. mate — to breed
  18. season — of the year
  19. pop — soda
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. clip — for paper
  22. pop — to visit
  23. branch — a division
  24. clip — a video

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