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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'll be taking the ________________.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. court — of a king
  4. squash — to crush
  5. key — the most important part
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. cold — not warm
  10. chip — to eat
  11. content — happy
  12. chip — for betting
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. key — in music
  15. squash — the sport
  16. key — for a lock
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. court — for sport
  19. court — of law
  20. prune — to trim
  21. content — the amount
  22. prune — to trim
  23. tube — a container
  24. cold — an illness

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