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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. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. tube — a container
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. tube — the underground
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. toast — bread
  10. bulb — for light
  11. content — the amount
  12. sharp — clever
  13. content — happy
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. bulb — for light
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. kick — in football
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. band — a ring
  23. band — a music group
  24. bulb — of a plant

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