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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. rest — what's left
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. field — a subject
  7. field — for sport
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. rest — what's left
  10. tube — a container
  11. content — happy
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. can — a tin
  15. can — a tin
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. tube — the underground
  18. can — to be able to
  19. content — the amount
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. field — farmland
  22. chair — a leader
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. rest — a break

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