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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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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 need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. bound — obliged
  3. face — to confront
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. chip — for betting
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. march — the month
  10. face — part of the head
  11. shower — rain
  12. march — music
  13. scale — in music
  14. tube — the underground
  15. shower — to wash
  16. bound — tied together
  17. chip — to eat
  18. scale — size or range
  19. march — the month
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. tube — a container
  22. bound — certain
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. face — to point toward

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