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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. march — music
  3. rock — a stone
  4. season — of the year
  5. spring — the season
  6. degree — an amount
  7. spring — a coil
  8. chest — of your body
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. degree — temperature
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. march — the month
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. season — in sport
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. spring — of water
  18. chest — of your body
  19. march — the month
  20. degree — from a university
  21. rock — music
  22. chest — a box
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. tube — the underground

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