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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: tube · fall · mine · kid · pitcher · mouse · bark · track

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. track — to keep track
  3. fall — to drop
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. fall — to drop
  6. mine — for digging
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. kid — child
  10. kid — to tease
  11. tube — a container
  12. track — a song
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. fall — the season
  16. track — a path
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. bark — to shout
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. tube — the underground

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