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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 want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. net — in sport
  6. face — to point toward
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. net — for catching
  9. tube — the underground
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. cell — a phone
  13. cell — in biology
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. face — to confront
  16. rock — music
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. rock — a stone
  19. roll — a cake
  20. net — after costs
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. face — part of the head
  24. roll — a list

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