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

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. When will it ________________ you to start?
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. suit — clothes
  4. wind — moving air
  5. suit — to fit
  6. rash — a series
  7. chest — a box
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. spell — letters
  10. season — in sport
  11. spell — a short time
  12. suit — in cards
  13. race — humankind
  14. tube — the underground
  15. race — the arms race
  16. spell — magic
  17. chest — of your body
  18. wind — moving air
  19. race — a contest
  20. tube — a container
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. chest — of your body
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. 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