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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. face — part of the head
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. face — to point toward
  5. face — to confront
  6. cold — an illness
  7. mate — a partner
  8. root — the cause
  9. tube — the underground
  10. swing — music
  11. swing — in golf
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. bound — obliged
  14. rock — music
  15. bound — tied together
  16. rock — a stone
  17. bound — certain
  18. tube — a container
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. root — of a word
  21. swing — to play on
  22. root — of a plant
  23. mate — to breed
  24. mate — a friend

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