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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. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. club — for golf
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. mine — for digging
  6. race — a contest
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. board — a committee
  9. spell — magic
  10. spell — a short time
  11. board — to get on
  12. tube — a container
  13. content — the amount
  14. race — humankind
  15. tube — the underground
  16. race — the arms race
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. stem — to come from
  19. content — happy
  20. spell — letters
  21. club — for dancing
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. club — a group

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