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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. tube — a container
  4. bound — obliged
  5. drill — a practice
  6. last — final
  7. bound — certain
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. kid — to tease
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. drill — army training
  13. pit — a hole
  14. last — finally
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. bound — tied together
  17. tube — the underground
  18. plane — a tool
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. drill — the tool
  21. kid — child
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. last — to go on
  24. pit — in a race

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