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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 want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. cap — of ice
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. cue — for pool
  6. mate — to breed
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. shower — rain
  9. cue — a hint
  10. field — for sport
  11. face — part of the head
  12. face — to point toward
  13. mate — a partner
  14. field — a subject
  15. face — to confront
  16. cap — a hat
  17. cue — a signal
  18. mate — a friend
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. field — farmland
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. cap — a lid
  23. tube — the underground
  24. shower — to wash

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