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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 need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. object — an aim
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. face — to point toward
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. last — finally
  8. kid — to tease
  9. object — a thing
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. last — final
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. last — to go on
  14. kid — child
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. object — to protest
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. tube — the underground
  21. tube — a container
  22. face — to confront
  23. bat — the animal
  24. face — part 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