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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. band — a music group
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. prune — to trim
  8. content — the amount
  9. land — a country
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. kick — in football
  13. land — to come down
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. prune — to trim
  16. land — ground
  17. tube — the underground
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. tube — a container
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. band — a ring
  24. content — happy

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