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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. press — to push
  5. bat — the animal
  6. charge — a price
  7. content — happy
  8. spell — letters
  9. tube — the underground
  10. present — the time now
  11. press — a publisher
  12. scale — in music
  13. scale — size or range
  14. press — newspapers
  15. spell — magic
  16. tube — a container
  17. present — there
  18. content — the amount
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. charge — electricity
  21. charge — in control
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. spell — a short time

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