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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. object — an aim
  4. scale — in music
  5. object — a thing
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. face — part of the head
  8. band — a music group
  9. tube — a container
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. face — to point toward
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. band — a ring
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. file — a line of people
  18. file — a tool
  19. object — to protest
  20. face — to confront
  21. scale — size or range
  22. file — a document
  23. tube — the underground
  24. racket — for tennis

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