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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 want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. mark — a grade
  3. file — a document
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. tube — the underground
  8. land — to come down
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. tear — from crying
  11. file — a line of people
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. file — a tool
  14. land — ground
  15. tear — to rip
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. mark — a trace
  18. snap — to click
  19. land — a country
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. tear — from crying

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