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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. bat — the animal
  5. tear — from crying
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. court — for sport
  8. rock — a stone
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. tear — to rip
  11. rock — music
  12. stand — to bear
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. tear — from crying
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. tube — a container
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. court — of a king
  19. content — the amount
  20. content — happy
  21. court — of law
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. tube — the underground
  24. bat — for baseball

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