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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: prune · rest · kid · tube · temple · bat · deal · face

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. tube — the underground
  4. rest — what's left
  5. deal — to handle
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. tube — a container
  8. face — to point toward
  9. kid — child
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. face — part of the head
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. prune — to trim
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. rest — a break
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. kid — to tease
  19. bat — the animal
  20. prune — to trim
  21. rest — what's left
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. face — to confront
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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