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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. march — the month
  3. present — the time now
  4. game — a match
  5. tube — a container
  6. game — wild animals
  7. bark — to shout
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. tube — the underground
  10. rock — a stone
  11. march — the month
  12. present — there
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. rock — music
  15. stem — to come from
  16. net — after costs
  17. net — for catching
  18. march — music
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. net — in sport
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. stem — of a plant

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