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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 · chair · cue · leaves · season · bark · race · row

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. chair — a leader
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. tube — a container
  5. season — of the year
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. cue — a hint
  10. season — in sport
  11. row — to paddle
  12. race — a contest
  13. bark — to shout
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. race — humankind
  16. cue — a signal
  17. cue — for pool
  18. race — the arms race
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. row — a line
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. chair — to sit on

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