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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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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: lean · present · toast · land · tube · cell · straw · date

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. lean — to bend
  3. land — a country
  4. lean — thin
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. present — there
  8. present — the time now
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. tube — a container
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. toast — bread
  14. land — to come down
  15. cell — a phone
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. cell — in biology
  18. tube — the underground
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. land — ground
  21. date — the fruit
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. present — a gift

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