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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 want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. can — a tin
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. staff — employees
  6. can — a tin
  7. spell — letters
  8. chair — a leader
  9. cold — not warm
  10. can — to be able to
  11. bulb — for light
  12. bulb — for light
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. scale — size or range
  15. scale — in music
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. tube — the underground
  18. cold — an illness
  19. staff — employees
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. spell — a short time
  23. staff — a stick
  24. spell — magic

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