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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. net — after costs
  3. tube — the underground
  4. spell — letters
  5. content — the amount
  6. wind — moving air
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. spell — magic
  9. net — in sport
  10. wind — moving air
  11. firm — decided
  12. net — for catching
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. tube — a container
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. rash — hasty
  19. firm — steady
  20. rash — a series
  21. content — happy
  22. spell — a short time
  23. firm — a company
  24. toast — bread

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