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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. file — a document
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. content — happy
  7. foot — a measure
  8. pop — soda
  9. tube — a container
  10. content — the amount
  11. pop — music
  12. spring — the season
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. pop — to visit
  15. file — a line of people
  16. spring — of water
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. file — a tool
  19. tube — the underground
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. spring — a coil
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. foot — the bottom

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