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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'll be taking the ________________.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. cap — a lid
  3. face — to point toward
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. tube — a container
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. cap — of ice
  11. face — to confront
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. roll — a list
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. mine — for digging
  17. roll — a cake
  18. face — part of the head
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. bark — to shout
  21. sharp — clever
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. cap — a hat
  24. stand — to bear

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