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

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. prune — to trim
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. land — to come down
  6. file — a tool
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. file — a document
  11. land — a country
  12. prune — to trim
  13. file — a line of people
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. tube — the underground
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. land — ground
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. temple — side of the head

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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