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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. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. lie — to recline
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. land — to come down
  6. game — wild animals
  7. present — a gift
  8. file — a document
  9. land — ground
  10. present — there
  11. present — the time now
  12. game — a match
  13. file — a tool
  14. degree — temperature
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. tube — the underground
  17. land — a country
  18. pitch — completely
  19. degree — from a university
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. file — a line of people
  22. degree — an amount
  23. tube — a container
  24. game — a kind of play

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