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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'll be taking the ________________.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. face — part of the head
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. branch — a division
  7. band — a ring
  8. root — of a word
  9. tube — a container
  10. cap — of ice
  11. root — of a plant
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. lie — to recline
  14. band — a music group
  15. face — to point toward
  16. root — the cause
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. cap — a lid
  20. face — to confront
  21. cap — a hat
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. bass — the fish
  24. bass — low music

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