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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 116 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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. tube — the underground
  6. staff — employees
  7. tube — a container
  8. file — a line of people
  9. staff — a stick
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. deal — to handle
  13. march — the month
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. march — the month
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. content — the amount
  18. file — a tool
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. file — a document
  22. staff — employees
  23. march — music
  24. racket — a loud noise

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