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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. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. roll — a list
  3. current — electric
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. mine — for digging
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. branch — a division
  10. bat — the animal
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. tube — the underground
  14. lie — to recline
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. roll — a cake
  18. current — of water
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. wake — a trail
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. current — happening now

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