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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: wake · face · roll · spring · pitch · tear · mate · tube

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. tube — the underground
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. mate — to breed
  8. pitch — completely
  9. tear — from crying
  10. spring — of water
  11. tear — to rip
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. tear — from crying
  14. face — to confront
  15. wake — a trail
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. face — to point toward
  18. tube — a container
  19. mate — a friend
  20. roll — a list
  21. spring — the season
  22. spring — a coil
  23. mate — a partner
  24. face — part of the head

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