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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.

Make a worksheet

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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. present — there
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. net — after costs
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. tube — the underground
  8. tube — a container
  9. game — a match
  10. game — wild animals
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. net — for catching
  13. present — a gift
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. present — the time now
  16. season — in sport
  17. net — in sport
  18. season — of the year

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