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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. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. scale — in music
  4. face — to confront
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. prune — to trim
  9. band — a ring
  10. scale — size or range
  11. last — final
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. file — a document
  14. band — a music group
  15. face — to point toward
  16. face — part of the head
  17. last — finally
  18. file — a tool
  19. last — to go on
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. deal — to handle
  22. file — a line of people
  23. prune — to trim
  24. tube — the underground

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