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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.

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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: leaves · lie · tube · trunk · mine · bat · face · row

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. tube — a container
  3. lie — to recline
  4. face — to confront
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. mine — for digging
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. tube — the underground
  14. row — a line
  15. row — to paddle
  16. bat — the animal
  17. face — part of the head
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. face — to point toward
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. trunk — of a car

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