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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: net · bark · swing · tube · chest · pass · spell · bowl

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. bark — to shout
  6. pass — a permit
  7. swing — to play on
  8. net — after costs
  9. spell — a short time
  10. chest — a box
  11. tube — a container
  12. net — in sport
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. chest — of your body
  15. net — for catching
  16. swing — in golf
  17. spell — letters
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. chest — of your body
  21. spell — magic
  22. tube — the underground
  23. swing — music
  24. bowl — to roll

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