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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. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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. root — of a plant
  4. root — the cause
  5. kid — child
  6. prune — to trim
  7. tube — the underground
  8. root — of a word
  9. rash — hasty
  10. kid — to tease
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. wound — an injury
  17. rash — a series
  18. prune — to trim
  19. content — the amount
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. wound — an injury
  23. content — happy
  24. content — videos and posts

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