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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 old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. staff — a stick
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. bark — to shout
  6. staff — employees
  7. row — to paddle
  8. row — a line
  9. plane — a tool
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. cell — in biology
  12. cell — a phone
  13. rash — a series
  14. face — part of the head
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. rash — hasty
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. tube — the underground
  20. face — to confront
  21. face — to point toward
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. staff — employees

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