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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 need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. firm — steady
  5. clip — a video
  6. clip — to cut
  7. shower — to wash
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. content — happy
  10. firm — decided
  11. pop — to visit
  12. land — a country
  13. pop — soda
  14. clip — for paper
  15. land — ground
  16. pop — music
  17. tube — a container
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. content — the amount
  21. firm — a company
  22. land — to come down
  23. shower — rain
  24. tube — the underground

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