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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. roll — a list
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. tube — the underground
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. bat — the animal
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. tube — a container
  11. fine — all right
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. march — music
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. wake — a trail
  21. march — the month
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. roll — a cake
  24. march — the month

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