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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. present — a gift
  3. tube — a container
  4. roll — a cake
  5. game — a match
  6. face — to point toward
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. object — an aim
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. face — to confront
  12. roll — a list
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. date — the fruit
  16. tube — the underground
  17. present — there
  18. object — to protest
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. present — the time now
  21. game — wild animals
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. object — a thing

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