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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 can't ________________ this cold.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. face — to confront
  3. chip — for betting
  4. tube — the underground
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. chip — to eat
  8. content — happy
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. file — a document
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. tube — a container
  13. content — the amount
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. plane — a tool
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. pitch — completely
  21. face — part of the head
  22. file — a line of people
  23. face — to point toward
  24. file — a tool

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