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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. tube — a container
  4. tube — the underground
  5. drill — a practice
  6. cue — a hint
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. drill — the tool
  10. drill — army training
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. prune — to trim
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. content — the amount
  17. cue — for pool
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. cue — a signal
  22. kick — in football
  23. content — happy
  24. prune — to trim

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