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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 want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. cell — a phone
  5. lie — to recline
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. branch — a division
  8. tube — the underground
  9. key — for a lock
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. fall — to drop
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. key — the most important part
  14. key — in music
  15. cell — in biology
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. court — for sport
  20. fall — the season
  21. court — of law
  22. fall — to drop
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. court — of a king

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