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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 120 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: tube · prune · pitch · deal · lie · fall · bat · tear

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. fall — the season
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. bat — the animal
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. tear — from crying
  7. pitch — completely
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. prune — to trim
  10. tear — from crying
  11. tube — a container
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. fall — to drop
  15. tear — to rip
  16. fall — to drop
  17. deal — to handle
  18. tube — the underground
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. lie — to recline
  24. prune — to trim

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