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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 116 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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468
Word bank
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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. mate — to breed
  3. face — to confront
  4. wind — moving air
  5. kid — child
  6. pound — a weight
  7. track — a song
  8. track — a path
  9. kid — to tease
  10. face — part of the head
  11. face — to point toward
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. tube — the underground
  14. band — a music group
  15. band — a ring
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. mate — a partner
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. wind — moving air
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. track — to keep track
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. tube — a container

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