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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. tube — a container
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. perch — the fish
  6. current — of water
  7. tube — the underground
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. content — the amount
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. content — happy
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. game — wild animals
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. pound — a weight
  18. current — happening now
  19. current — electric
  20. game — a match
  21. rash — hasty
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. rash — a series

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