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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. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. tube — the underground
  3. file — a document
  4. face — to confront
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. bass — the fish
  11. face — to point toward
  12. bass — low music
  13. tube — a container
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. bank — for money
  16. file — a tool
  17. file — a line of people
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. face — part of the head
  20. bank — for money
  21. bank — of a river
  22. rash — hasty
  23. rash — a series
  24. plane — in geometry

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