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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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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 had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. track — a path
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. snap — to click
  9. track — to keep track
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. face — to point toward
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. kid — to tease
  15. tube — the underground
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. tube — a container
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. track — a song
  21. face — part of the head
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. face — to confront
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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