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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. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. rest — what's left
  3. tube — a container
  4. face — to confront
  5. swing — to play on
  6. degree — an amount
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. file — a line of people
  10. swing — music
  11. fall — to drop
  12. file — a tool
  13. fall — to drop
  14. face — to point toward
  15. rest — a break
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. degree — temperature
  18. tube — the underground
  19. degree — from a university
  20. file — a document
  21. swing — in golf
  22. face — part of the head
  23. fork — in a road
  24. fall — the season

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