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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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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. tear — to rip
  3. tube — the underground
  4. content — happy
  5. tube — a container
  6. content — the amount
  7. swing — in golf
  8. kid — child
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. rock — a stone
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. tear — from crying
  14. swing — music
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. kid — to tease
  17. tear — from crying
  18. rock — music

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