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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 ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. tube — a container
  3. scale — in music
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. mug — a cup
  6. tube — the underground
  7. file — a tool
  8. mug — a face
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. mug — to rob
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. file — a document
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. file — a line of people
  15. root — of a word
  16. root — the cause
  17. game — a match
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. scale — size or range
  20. content — the amount
  21. game — wild animals
  22. content — happy
  23. root — of a plant
  24. content — videos and posts

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