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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. last — final
  4. tube — a container
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. last — to go on
  7. key — in music
  8. kid — child
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. season — in sport
  11. last — finally
  12. pop — to visit
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. key — the most important part
  15. pop — soda
  16. clip — to cut
  17. clip — for paper
  18. season — of the year
  19. pop — music
  20. tube — the underground
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. clip — a video
  23. kid — to tease
  24. key — for a lock

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