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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. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. bulb — for light
  3. net — after costs
  4. bulb — for light
  5. tube — a container
  6. chip — for betting
  7. pop — to visit
  8. spell — magic
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. spell — letters
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. net — for catching
  13. spring — of water
  14. roll — a list
  15. spell — a short time
  16. net — in sport
  17. spring — the season
  18. pop — music
  19. chip — to eat
  20. tube — the underground
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. roll — a cake
  23. pop — soda
  24. spring — a coil

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