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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. When was this ________________ built?
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. tube — a container
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. prune — to trim
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. file — a document
  9. object — to protest
  10. file — a tool
  11. object — an aim
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. tube — the underground
  14. fall — to drop
  15. bound — certain
  16. bound — tied together
  17. file — a line of people
  18. fall — to drop
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. prune — to trim
  21. fall — the season
  22. object — a thing
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. bound — obliged

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