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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. bat — the animal
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. snap — to click
  7. tube — a container
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. craft — a skill
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. craft — boats
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. tube — the underground
  16. face — to confront
  17. face — part of the head
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. mine — for digging
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. face — to point toward

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