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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'll be taking the ________________.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. tube — a container
  3. season — in sport
  4. date — the fruit
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wound — an injury
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. wind — moving air
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. season — of the year
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. race — humankind
  17. race — the arms race
  18. race — a contest
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. wound — an injury
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. trunk — of a car

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