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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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. season — of the year
  3. wind — moving air
  4. cold — not warm
  5. cap — a lid
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. tube — a container
  9. clip — for paper
  10. tube — the underground
  11. bore — to tire
  12. clip — to cut
  13. season — in sport
  14. clip — a video
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. cap — of ice
  18. cap — a hat
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. bore — to drill
  21. mark — a trace
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. cold — an illness
  24. wind — moving air

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