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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 116 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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. face — to confront
  3. tube — the underground
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. stem — to come from
  6. band — a ring
  7. key — for a lock
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. bore — to drill
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. tube — a container
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. spring — a coil
  14. bore — to tire
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. key — the most important part
  17. face — to point toward
  18. band — a music group
  19. spring — of water
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. face — part of the head
  23. spring — the season
  24. key — in music

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