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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. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. season — of the year
  6. mine — for digging
  7. plane — a tool
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. scale — size or range
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. stock — goods
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. tube — a container
  14. stock — shares
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. tube — the underground
  17. ground — a position
  18. ground — crushed
  19. ground — the earth
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. season — in sport
  23. scale — in music
  24. plane — in geometry

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