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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  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. spring — a coil
  2. spring — the season
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. deal — to handle
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. drill — the tool
  8. hand — in cards
  9. season — of the year
  10. spring — of water
  11. drill — army training
  12. last — to go on
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. drill — a practice
  15. last — finally
  16. tube — a container
  17. tube — the underground
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. last — final
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. sharp — clever
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. season — in 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