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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: fall · kid · face · tube · cell · scale

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. fall — to drop
  4. kid — to tease
  5. fall — the season
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. scale — size or range
  8. face — to point toward
  9. tube — the underground
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. face — part of the head
  12. tube — a container
  13. scale — in music
  14. cell — a phone
  15. cell — in biology
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. face — to confront
  18. fall — to drop

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