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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've got to change the light ________________.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. race — a contest
  4. tube — the underground
  5. spell — letters
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. net — after costs
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. race — the arms race
  11. root — of a word
  12. content — the amount
  13. race — humankind
  14. tube — a container
  15. spell — magic
  16. bulb — for light
  17. net — in sport
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. root — the cause
  20. spell — a short time
  21. root — of a plant
  22. content — happy
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. net — for catching

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