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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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468
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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. rash — hasty
  3. fall — the season
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. ball — a dance
  6. fall — to drop
  7. rash — a series
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. season — in sport
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. fall — to drop
  13. kid — child
  14. tube — the underground
  15. kick — in football
  16. field — farmland
  17. ball — a great time
  18. season — of the year
  19. field — a subject
  20. field — for sport
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. kid — to tease
  23. tube — a container
  24. ball — a round shape

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