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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 116 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. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. When will it ________________ you to start?
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. tube — a container
  4. net — for catching
  5. tube — the underground
  6. wind — moving air
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. content — happy
  11. net — in sport
  12. suit — in cards
  13. bat — the animal
  14. net — after costs
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. suit — to fit
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. fork — in a road
  20. suit — clothes
  21. rock — music
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. content — the amount
  24. rock — a stone

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