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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 124 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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. row — a line
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. row — to paddle
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. wake — a trail
  10. march — the month
  11. tube — a container
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. march — the month
  14. march — music
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. clip — to cut
  17. fall — the season
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. clip — a video
  20. fall — to drop
  21. fall — to drop
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. clip — for paper
  24. tube — the underground

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