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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: content · trunk · row · tube · mine · bat · rush · rest

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. row — to paddle
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. rest — what's left
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. bat — the animal
  9. content — the amount
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. rest — a break
  12. content — happy
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. rush — hurry
  15. row — a line
  16. rest — what's left
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. mine — for digging
  23. tube — the underground
  24. mine — belonging to me

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