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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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. fine — all right
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. stock — goods
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. stock — shares
  12. tube — a container
  13. deal — to handle
  14. content — the amount
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. fine — high quality
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. capital — a city
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. capital — money
  23. content — happy
  24. tube — the underground

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