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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. tube — the underground
  4. roll — a list
  5. content — the amount
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. scale — in music
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. scale — size or range
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. tube — a container
  15. tear — to rip
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. content — happy
  19. tear — from crying
  20. bat — the animal
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. roll — a cake
  24. temple — side of the head

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