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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 120 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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. net — for catching
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. chip — to eat
  6. chest — a box
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. net — after costs
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. chest — of your body
  11. bulb — for light
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. net — in sport
  14. tube — the underground
  15. clip — a video
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. tube — a container
  19. chest — of your body
  20. chip — for betting
  21. clip — to cut
  22. bulb — for light
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. clip — for paper

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