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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 116 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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: trunk · stick · cap · tube · game · content · swing · spell

  1. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. tube — the underground
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. content — happy
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. tube — a container
  7. content — the amount
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. cap — of ice
  12. swing — to play on
  13. game — a match
  14. swing — music
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. cap — a lid
  17. cap — a hat
  18. spell — magic
  19. game — wild animals
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. spell — letters
  23. spell — a short time
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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