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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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. stock — shares
  4. face — to confront
  5. file — a tool
  6. tube — a container
  7. track — a song
  8. track — a path
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. track — to keep track
  11. file — a document
  12. band — a music group
  13. band — a ring
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. file — a line of people
  17. face — to point toward
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. sharp — clever
  20. face — part of the head
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. stock — goods
  24. lie — to recline

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