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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'll be taking the ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. spell — magic
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. fine — all right
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. wake — a trail
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. pitch — completely
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. spell — letters
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. band — a ring
  18. spell — a short time
  19. scale — in music
  20. scale — size or range
  21. lie — to recline
  22. tube — a container
  23. fine — high quality
  24. band — a music group

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