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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 120 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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. land — a country
  6. tube — a container
  7. land — ground
  8. spell — a short time
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. drill — a practice
  12. pit — in a race
  13. drill — the tool
  14. spell — magic
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. content — happy
  18. land — to come down
  19. pit — a hole
  20. spell — letters
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. tube — the underground
  23. content — the amount
  24. bark — to shout

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