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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 124 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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. tube — the underground
  7. bore — to drill
  8. march — the month
  9. chest — a box
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. tube — a container
  12. chest — of your body
  13. net — in sport
  14. net — after costs
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. bore — to tire
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. chest — of your body
  20. march — music
  21. net — for catching
  22. march — the month
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. pitcher — a jug

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