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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. season — in sport
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. season — of the year
  5. squash — to crush
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. court — of a king
  8. bulb — for light
  9. bulb — for light
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. shower — to wash
  14. tube — a container
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. shower — rain
  18. squash — the sport
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. hand — in cards
  21. tube — the underground
  22. court — of law
  23. court — for sport
  24. hand — help

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