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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. net — in sport
  3. fork — in a road
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. tube — the underground
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. net — for catching
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. tube — a container
  17. cold — an illness
  18. cold — not warm
  19. net — after costs
  20. season — in sport
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. season — of the year
  24. fork — a garden tool

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