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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. wound — an injury
  3. cell — a phone
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. cell — in biology
  6. march — the month
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. tube — a container
  9. wound — an injury
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. bark — to shout
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. pop — soda
  17. pop — music
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. march — music
  20. pop — to visit
  21. march — the month
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  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