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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. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. mine — for digging
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. wind — moving air
  6. tube — a container
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. tube — the underground
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. field — a subject
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. spring — the season
  13. field — farmland
  14. season — of the year
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. season — in sport
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. spring — a coil
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. wind — moving air
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. field — for sport
  24. spring — of water

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