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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 need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. lie — to recline
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. saw — the tool
  6. face — to point toward
  7. bass — the fish
  8. face — part of the head
  9. tube — the underground
  10. bass — low music
  11. craft — a skill
  12. tube — a container
  13. cold — not warm
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. saw — the tool
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. cold — an illness
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. face — to confront
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. craft — boats
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. bass — the instrument

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