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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'll be taking the ________________.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. rest — what's left
  3. bat — the animal
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. pop — soda
  6. face — to confront
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. row — a line
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. rest — what's left
  12. row — to paddle
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. face — to point toward
  15. face — part of the head
  16. squash — the sport
  17. pop — to visit
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. tube — a container
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. squash — to crush
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. pop — music
  24. rest — a break

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