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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. present — the time now
  3. ground — a position
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. kid — to tease
  6. tube — a container
  7. spring — of water
  8. season — of the year
  9. scale — size or range
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. spring — a coil
  12. ground — crushed
  13. present — a gift
  14. kid — child
  15. spring — the season
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. scale — in music
  21. ground — the earth
  22. present — there
  23. tube — the underground
  24. tube — in a tire

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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