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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. plane — a tool
  4. bank — for money
  5. bank — of a river
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. season — in sport
  8. tube — a container
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. bank — for money
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. tube — the underground
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. season — of the year
  19. game — a match
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. fork — in a road
  23. game — wild animals
  24. cold — an illness

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