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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. face — to confront
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. wound — an injury
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. march — the month
  8. kick — in football
  9. rock — a stone
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. face — part of the head
  13. squash — to crush
  14. tube — the underground
  15. face — to point toward
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. march — music
  19. squash — the sport
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. rock — music
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. wound — an injury
  24. march — the month

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