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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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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: tube · bat · spell · key · content · wound · bulb · clip

  1. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. tube — the underground
  3. clip — for paper
  4. content — happy
  5. bulb — for light
  6. key — in music
  7. content — the amount
  8. bat — the animal
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. key — for a lock
  11. clip — a video
  12. spell — letters
  13. bulb — for light
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. spell — magic
  16. wound — an injury
  17. key — the most important part
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. wound — an injury
  20. clip — to cut
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. tube — a container

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