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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 need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. spring — the season
  3. root — of a plant
  4. root — of a word
  5. content — the amount
  6. degree — an amount
  7. degree — from a university
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. root — the cause
  10. bulb — for light
  11. tube — the underground
  12. spring — of water
  13. spring — a coil
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. bulb — for light
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. rule — a law
  19. degree — temperature
  20. rule — government
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. content — happy
  23. tube — a container
  24. snap — to click

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