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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: date · face · drill · file · cap · tube · bear · row

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. face — to point toward
  3. tube — the underground
  4. row — a line
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. cap — of ice
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. row — to paddle
  9. bear — the animal
  10. date — the fruit
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. cap — a hat
  13. bear — the animal
  14. face — to confront
  15. drill — a practice
  16. file — a tool
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. drill — the tool
  19. drill — army training
  20. face — part of the head
  21. file — a line of people
  22. file — a document
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. cap — a lid

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