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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. bark — to shout
  4. cap — a lid
  5. tube — the underground
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. march — the month
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. march — music
  12. tube — a container
  13. prune — to trim
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. cap — of ice
  17. cap — a hat
  18. march — the month
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. prune — to trim
  21. pop — to visit
  22. pop — music
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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