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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. wound — an injury
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. wound — an injury
  6. rash — a series
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. clip — a video
  9. mate — a friend
  10. tube — a container
  11. mate — to breed
  12. season — in sport
  13. mate — a partner
  14. deal — to handle
  15. season — of the year
  16. row — to paddle
  17. clip — to cut
  18. clip — for paper
  19. row — a line
  20. rash — hasty
  21. tube — the underground
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. deal — a big deal

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