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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: present · chest · last · bowl · cell · tube · plane · squash

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. tube — a container
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. present — the time now
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. present — there
  8. squash — the sport
  9. cell — in biology
  10. last — finally
  11. squash — to crush
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. chest — of your body
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. plane — a tool
  17. chest — a box
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. cell — a phone
  20. present — a gift
  21. tube — the underground
  22. last — final
  23. chest — of your body
  24. cell — in a prison

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