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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 120 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. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. tube — a container
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. season — in sport
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. craft — boats
  10. degree — from a university
  11. content — the amount
  12. stem — to come from
  13. content — happy
  14. craft — a skill
  15. degree — temperature
  16. bear — the animal
  17. season — of the year
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. degree — an amount
  20. tube — the underground
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. bear — the animal
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. leaves — to go away

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