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

Word bank: tube · cap · cell · file · object · rest · bark · deal

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. cap — a hat
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. rest — a break
  5. file — a line of people
  6. deal — to handle
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. object — an aim
  10. object — a thing
  11. tube — the underground
  12. bark — to shout
  13. cell — a phone
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. cap — of ice
  16. cell — in biology
  17. tube — a container
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. rest — what's left
  20. file — a document
  21. rest — what's left
  22. file — a tool
  23. object — to protest
  24. cap — a lid

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