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

  1. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. season — of the year
  3. game — wild animals
  4. hand — help
  5. tube — a container
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. capital — money
  10. tube — the underground
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. capital — a city
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. hand — in cards
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. kid — to tease
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. kid — child
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. game — a match
  24. bowl — to roll

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