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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. season — of the year
  3. season — in sport
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. face — part of the head
  8. face — to confront
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. tube — a container
  11. face — to point toward
  12. game — wild animals
  13. spring — the season
  14. plane — a tool
  15. chip — for betting
  16. spring — of water
  17. chip — to eat
  18. net — for catching
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. net — after costs
  21. spring — a coil
  22. game — a match
  23. tube — the underground
  24. plane — an aircraft

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