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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 124 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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. field — farmland
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. pop — soda
  5. tube — the underground
  6. drill — army training
  7. rash — a series
  8. scale — size or range
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. field — a subject
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. scale — in music
  17. drill — a practice
  18. tube — a container
  19. pop — to visit
  20. field — for sport
  21. rash — hasty
  22. pop — music
  23. drill — the tool
  24. season — in sport

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