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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 112 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. season — of the year
  3. tube — the underground
  4. tube — a container
  5. spring — a coil
  6. face — part of the head
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. season — in sport
  9. spring — the season
  10. face — to point toward
  11. mark — a trace
  12. spring — of water
  13. face — to confront
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. mark — a grade
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. plane — a tool
  18. tube — in a tire

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