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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.

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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. net — after costs
  4. drill — a practice
  5. content — happy
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. land — to come down
  8. drill — the tool
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. tube — a container
  11. net — in sport
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. vault — a safe
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. content — the amount
  16. land — a country
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. tube — the underground
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. land — ground
  21. net — for catching
  22. drill — army training
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. game — wild animals

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