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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 120 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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. face — to point toward
  3. field — a subject
  4. tube — the underground
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. march — the month
  7. face — part of the head
  8. face — to confront
  9. march — music
  10. capital — money
  11. press — newspapers
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. capital — a city
  14. field — for sport
  15. press — a publisher
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. tube — a container
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. pitch — completely
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. field — farmland
  23. press — to push
  24. march — the month

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