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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: chest · mine · bat · stick · tube · land · fine · ruler

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. tube — the underground
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. land — a country
  7. land — to come down
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. land — ground
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. mine — for digging
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. chest — of your body
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. bat — the animal
  18. fine — high quality
  19. chest — of your body
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. tube — a container
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. fine — all right
  24. chest — a box

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