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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 124 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 got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. pound — a weight
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. mine — for digging
  8. tube — a container
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. hand — help
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. pitch — completely
  13. tube — the underground
  14. date — the fruit
  15. face — to point toward
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. face — part of the head
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. face — to confront
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. bowl — a dish

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