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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. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. firm — a company
  3. cold — not warm
  4. firm — decided
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. scale — in music
  7. face — part of the head
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. tube — a container
  12. firm — steady
  13. roll — a list
  14. tube — the underground
  15. face — to confront
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. roll — a cake
  19. face — to point toward
  20. perch — the fish
  21. cold — an illness
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. scale — size or range

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