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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. ground — crushed
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. ground — the earth
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. cap — a hat
  9. content — the amount
  10. fork — in a road
  11. chest — of your body
  12. chest — a box
  13. tube — a container
  14. lean — to bend
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. tube — the underground
  17. content — happy
  18. cap — of ice
  19. cap — a lid
  20. ground — a position
  21. lie — to recline
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. chest — of your body
  24. lean — thin

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