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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. wind — moving air
  4. lie — to recline
  5. march — the month
  6. rest — what's left
  7. rest — what's left
  8. march — the month
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. tube — a container
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. tube — the underground
  13. march — music
  14. wind — moving air
  15. present — there
  16. prune — to trim
  17. present — the time now
  18. prune — to trim
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. shower — to wash
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. rest — a break
  24. shower — rain

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