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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. rash — hasty
  3. bear — the animal
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. court — for sport
  6. court — of law
  7. tear — from crying
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. tube — a container
  10. row — to paddle
  11. tear — to rip
  12. root — the cause
  13. row — a line
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. court — of a king
  16. tube — the underground
  17. root — of a plant
  18. rule — government
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. root — of a word
  21. tear — from crying
  22. rule — a law
  23. bear — the animal
  24. rash — a series

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