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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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: tube · date · hand · mine · face · squash

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. mine — for digging
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. tube — a container
  5. hand — help
  6. face — part of the head
  7. face — to point toward
  8. squash — to crush
  9. hand — in cards
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. date — the fruit
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. face — to confront
  17. tube — the underground
  18. date — on the calendar

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