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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 want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. spring — of water
  4. land — ground
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. content — happy
  8. tube — the underground
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. band — a music group
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. spring — the season
  13. content — the amount
  14. spring — a coil
  15. roll — a list
  16. roll — a cake
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. band — a ring
  19. land — a country
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. land — to come down
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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