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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. suit — to fit
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. fall — to drop
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. file — a line of people
  7. tube — the underground
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. kid — to tease
  10. suit — in cards
  11. face — to point toward
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. kid — child
  14. tube — a container
  15. fall — to drop
  16. face — part of the head
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. suit — clothes
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. fall — the season
  23. file — a tool
  24. file — a document

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