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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 want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. spring — of water
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. board — to get on
  5. bear — the animal
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. tube — the underground
  8. board — a committee
  9. cold — not warm
  10. file — a document
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. fine — high quality
  13. bear — the animal
  14. season — in sport
  15. cold — an illness
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. file — a tool
  18. file — a line of people
  19. spring — the season
  20. spring — a coil
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. fine — all right
  23. season — of the year
  24. tube — in a tire

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