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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 116 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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. ball — a dance
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. last — to go on
  12. bat — the animal
  13. last — final
  14. lie — to recline
  15. ball — a great time
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. plane — a tool
  18. band — a music group
  19. tube — the underground
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. tube — a container
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. band — a ring
  24. plane — in geometry

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