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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. When will it ________________ you to start?
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — to fit
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. chest — of your body
  5. roll — a list
  6. roll — a cake
  7. chest — of your body
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. root — of a word
  10. prune — to trim
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. suit — clothes
  13. prune — to trim
  14. chest — a box
  15. tube — a container
  16. lean — thin
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. suit — in cards
  19. tube — the underground
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. root — the cause
  22. lean — to bend
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. root — of a plant

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