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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.

Make a worksheet

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

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. 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. spell — magic
  3. hand — help
  4. bear — the animal
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. tube — the underground
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. mine — for digging
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. spell — a short time
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. spell — letters
  15. bear — the animal
  16. hand — in cards
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. 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