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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'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. stem — to come from
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. swing — music
  5. rush — hurry
  6. land — a country
  7. squash — the sport
  8. land — to come down
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. content — the amount
  11. swing — to play on
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. squash — to crush
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. tube — a container
  16. swing — in golf
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. content — happy
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. tube — the underground

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