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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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. cell — in a prison
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. cell — a phone
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. perch — the fish
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. lie — to recline
  16. tube — the underground
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. row — to paddle
  20. cell — in biology
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. row — a line

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