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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 120 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.

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: present · rush · spell · fine · cell · tube · face · cold

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. cold — not warm
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. tube — a container
  5. tube — the underground
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. present — there
  10. present — the time now
  11. rush — hurry
  12. cell — in biology
  13. spell — letters
  14. face — to point toward
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. fine — all right
  17. face — to confront
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. cold — an illness
  20. face — part of the head
  21. fine — high quality
  22. spell — a short time
  23. cell — a phone
  24. spell — magic

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