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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: hand · cold · racket · prune · content · tube · ball · craft

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. cold — not warm
  3. prune — to trim
  4. cold — an illness
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. prune — to trim
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. tube — a container
  9. content — the amount
  10. craft — boats
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. tube — the underground
  13. content — happy
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. craft — a skill
  17. hand — in cards
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. ball — a great time
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. ball — a dance
  24. hand — help

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