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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. bat — the animal
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. tube — a container
  6. track — to keep track
  7. tube — the underground
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. track — a song
  13. last — finally
  14. last — final
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. track — a path
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. march — the month
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. march — music
  22. march — the month
  23. last — to go on
  24. temple — side of the head

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