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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'll be taking the ________________.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. content — happy
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. swing — to play on
  6. date — the fruit
  7. swing — in golf
  8. pound — a weight
  9. content — the amount
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. tube — a container
  14. spring — the season
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. spring — a coil
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. spring — of water
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. bulb — for light
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. bulb — for light
  24. swing — music

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