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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. pop — music
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. prune — to trim
  6. pop — to visit
  7. file — a document
  8. tube — a container
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. lie — to recline
  11. deal — to handle
  12. field — for sport
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. field — farmland
  16. file — a line of people
  17. prune — to trim
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. tube — the underground
  20. file — a tool
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. field — a subject
  24. prune — the fruit

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