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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. face — to confront
  4. ground — the earth
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. file — a line of people
  7. file — a tool
  8. tube — the underground
  9. cell — a phone
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. face — part of the head
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. cell — in biology
  15. ground — crushed
  16. face — to point toward
  17. file — a document
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. tube — a container
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. tube — in a tire

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