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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. chest — of your body
  4. swing — music
  5. pop — to visit
  6. bulb — for light
  7. last — finally
  8. last — final
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. chest — a box
  11. last — to go on
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. swing — to play on
  14. pop — music
  15. bear — the animal
  16. game — wild animals
  17. pop — soda
  18. tube — the underground
  19. chest — of your body
  20. game — a match
  21. bear — the animal
  22. tube — a container
  23. bulb — for light
  24. swing — in golf

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