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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. season — of the year
  3. scale — in music
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. cold — not warm
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. cold — an illness
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. bank — of a river
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. season — in sport
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. scale — size or range
  14. tear — to rip
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. tube — the underground
  17. bank — for money
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. tear — from crying
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. tear — from crying
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. bank — for money
  24. bowl — a football final

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