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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. wind — moving air
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. tube — the underground
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. game — wild animals
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. perch — the fish
  16. stem — to come from
  17. content — the amount
  18. cue — a hint
  19. cue — a signal
  20. game — a match
  21. content — happy
  22. wind — moving air
  23. cue — for pool
  24. wind — to turn a key

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