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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. tube — a container
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. charge — in control
  6. tube — the underground
  7. cold — an illness
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. ground — a position
  10. object — to protest
  11. charge — a price
  12. cold — not warm
  13. charge — electricity
  14. object — a thing
  15. ground — crushed
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. season — in sport
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. ground — the earth
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. plane — a tool
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. season — of the year
  24. mouse — for a computer

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