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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. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. fork — in a road
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. prune — to trim
  6. cold — not warm
  7. tube — the underground
  8. prune — to trim
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. branch — a division
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. tube — a container
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. cold — an illness
  19. sharp — clever
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. racket — for tennis

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