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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 need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. bat — the animal
  3. stand — to bear
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. mate — to breed
  6. kid — child
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. mate — a partner
  9. face — part of the head
  10. tube — the underground
  11. face — to point toward
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. kid — to tease
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. mate — a friend
  16. swing — in golf
  17. tube — a container
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. face — to confront
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. swing — music
  24. swing — to play on

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