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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'll be taking the ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. board — a committee
  4. spring — of water
  5. season — of the year
  6. bound — obliged
  7. bound — tied together
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. tube — a container
  10. bound — certain
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. season — in sport
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. wake — a trail
  15. spring — the season
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. board — to get on
  20. bat — the animal
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. spring — a coil
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. patient — a sick person

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