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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 want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. last — final
  4. content — happy
  5. last — to go on
  6. tube — the underground
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. kid — child
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. bank — for money
  11. bulb — for light
  12. bank — for money
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. kid — to tease
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. bank — of a river
  17. last — finally
  18. bark — to shout
  19. staff — employees
  20. staff — employees
  21. content — the amount
  22. staff — a stick
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. bulb — for light

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