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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bore · chair · plane · track · tube · straw · row · net

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. track — a path
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. bore — to tire
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. bore — to drill
  8. net — after costs
  9. track — to keep track
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. row — a line
  12. tube — a container
  13. net — in sport
  14. row — to paddle
  15. plane — a tool
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. track — a song
  18. net — for catching
  19. chair — a leader
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. tube — the underground
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. plane — in geometry

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