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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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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: trunk · tube · cabinet · bark · file · mate · squash · land

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. bark — to shout
  3. squash — to crush
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. file — a line of people
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. squash — the sport
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. mate — a friend
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. land — a country
  14. land — to come down
  15. file — a document
  16. mate — a partner
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. file — a tool
  19. land — ground
  20. tube — the underground
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. mate — to breed
  24. tube — a container

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