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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: fine · tear · cabinet · fall · tube · bass · bat · face

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. 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 — in a tire
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. fine — all right
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. tube — the underground
  6. fall — the season
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. fall — to drop
  9. face — part of the head
  10. tear — to rip
  11. fine — high quality
  12. face — to confront
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. bass — the fish
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. bass — low music
  19. face — to point toward
  20. bat — the animal
  21. tube — a container
  22. fall — to drop
  23. tear — from crying
  24. 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