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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. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  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. lie — an untruth
  2. tube — the underground
  3. bear — the animal
  4. mate — a friend
  5. scale — in music
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. scale — size or range
  10. mate — a partner
  11. mate — to breed
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. bear — the animal
  14. land — a country
  15. date — the fruit
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. lie — to recline
  18. land — to come down
  19. tube — a container
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. snap — to click
  23. land — ground
  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