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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. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. track — a path
  4. fall — to drop
  5. race — the arms race
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. tube — the underground
  8. drill — a practice
  9. prune — to trim
  10. mate — a partner
  11. tube — a container
  12. fall — the season
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. drill — the tool
  15. race — a contest
  16. race — humankind
  17. fall — to drop
  18. track — a song
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. mate — to breed
  21. mate — a friend
  22. drill — army training
  23. track — to keep track
  24. prune — to trim

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