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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 120 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: key · chest · trunk · tube · bulb · root · hand · bat

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. key — the most important part
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. bulb — for light
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. key — in music
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. root — of a plant
  10. chest — of your body
  11. chest — a box
  12. bulb — for light
  13. bat — the animal
  14. hand — help
  15. key — for a lock
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. chest — of your body
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. root — of a word
  22. tube — the underground
  23. hand — in cards
  24. root — the cause

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