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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. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. wound — an injury
  4. land — to come down
  5. clip — for paper
  6. craft — a skill
  7. tube — the underground
  8. clip — a video
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. clip — to cut
  12. chip — to eat
  13. land — ground
  14. mark — a grade
  15. wound — an injury
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. land — a country
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. craft — boats
  20. chip — for betting
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. mark — a trace
  24. tube — a container

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