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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. When will it ________________ you to start?
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. tube — a container
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. tube — the underground
  7. row — a line
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. suit — in cards
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. content — happy
  13. suit — to fit
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. row — to paddle
  16. bat — the animal
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. suit — clothes
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. stock — shares
  21. stock — goods
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. content — the amount

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