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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. season — in sport
  3. swing — music
  4. shower — to wash
  5. cap — of ice
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. shower — rain
  8. spring — the season
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. swing — in golf
  14. cap — a lid
  15. spring — a coil
  16. swing — to play on
  17. lie — to recline
  18. tube — a container
  19. cap — a hat
  20. spring — of water
  21. sharp — clever
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. season — of the year

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