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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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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: bat · tube · tear · hide · rock · face

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. tear — from crying
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. rock — music
  6. tube — the underground
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. tear — to rip
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. bat — the animal
  12. face — to point toward
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. face — part of the head
  16. face — to confront
  17. rock — a stone
  18. tear — from crying

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