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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. tube — a container
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. court — of law
  7. degree — temperature
  8. face — part of the head
  9. court — of a king
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. face — to confront
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. degree — an amount
  15. face — to point toward
  16. pop — to visit
  17. plane — a tool
  18. tube — the underground
  19. degree — from a university
  20. pop — soda
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. pop — music
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. court — for sport

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