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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. march — music
  3. kid — child
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. rock — a stone
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. season — in sport
  8. game — wild animals
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. march — the month
  11. kid — to tease
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. plane — a tool
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. game — a match
  16. march — the month
  17. season — of the year
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. tube — a container
  20. rock — music
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. cabinet — ministers

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