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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. tube — the underground
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. season — in sport
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. file — a line of people
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. spring — the season
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. plane — a tool
  15. tube — a container
  16. chair — a leader
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. spring — of water
  20. file — a document
  21. file — a tool
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. spring — a coil
  24. chair — to sit on

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