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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 116 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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. season — of the year
  3. tube — a container
  4. season — in sport
  5. mate — a friend
  6. mate — a partner
  7. root — the cause
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. track — a song
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. plane — a tool
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. track — to keep track
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. tube — the underground
  19. track — a path
  20. root — of a word
  21. kid — child
  22. mate — to breed
  23. root — of a plant
  24. snap — to click

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