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

Word bank: kick · tube · content · fine · toast · tear · prune · race

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. race — humankind
  4. fine — all right
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. tube — a container
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. race — the arms race
  11. tear — from crying
  12. kick — in football
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. race — a contest
  16. tube — the underground
  17. content — the amount
  18. fine — high quality
  19. content — happy
  20. prune — to trim
  21. toast — bread
  22. tear — from crying
  23. tear — to rip
  24. prune — to trim

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