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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 116 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. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. spell — letters
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. tube — a container
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. root — of a word
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. tube — the underground
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. pound — a weight
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. scale — in music
  16. root — the cause
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. spell — magic
  20. spell — a short time
  21. chip — for betting
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. scale — size or range
  24. root — of a plant

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