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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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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: present · chest · last · bowl · cell · tube

  1. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. tube — the underground
  3. cell — a phone
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. chest — a box
  6. tube — a container
  7. present — a gift
  8. last — to go on
  9. last — final
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. last — finally
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. present — there
  15. cell — in biology
  16. chest — of your body
  17. chest — of your body
  18. bowl — a football final

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