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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 120 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 need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. foot — a measure
  3. rest — what's left
  4. swing — to play on
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. tube — a container
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. object — a thing
  11. face — to point toward
  12. rest — a break
  13. tube — the underground
  14. object — an aim
  15. object — to protest
  16. rest — what's left
  17. pitch — completely
  18. face — to confront
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. perch — the fish
  21. swing — in golf
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. swing — music
  24. face — part of the head

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