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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. tube — the underground
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. club — for dancing
  7. content — the amount
  8. fine — high quality
  9. cold — not warm
  10. root — of a word
  11. root — the cause
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. cold — an illness
  14. root — of a plant
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. hand — help
  17. club — for golf
  18. fine — all right
  19. hand — in cards
  20. content — happy
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. tube — a container
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. club — a group

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