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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. chest — of your body
  5. content — the amount
  6. chair — a leader
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. scale — size or range
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. scale — in music
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. pound — a weight
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. tube — the underground
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. content — happy
  20. chest — a box
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. chest — of your body
  23. foot — a measure
  24. chair — to sit on

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