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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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. face — to point toward
  5. tube — a container
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. spring — a coil
  8. spring — the season
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. plane — a tool
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. bound — tied together
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. face — part of the head
  16. spring — of water
  17. tube — the underground
  18. bound — obliged
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. sharp — clever
  23. bound — certain
  24. face — to confront

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