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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. scale — size or range
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. bore — to tire
  7. land — to come down
  8. kick — in football
  9. tube — the underground
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. tube — a container
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. sharp — clever
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. snap — to click
  18. bore — to drill
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. scale — in music
  21. land — a country
  22. land — ground
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. season — in sport

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