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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  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. season — in sport
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. spell — letters
  4. tube — a container
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. ball — a great time
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. swing — to play on
  10. swing — in golf
  11. wind — moving air
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. ball — a dance
  14. spell — a short time
  15. mine — for digging
  16. season — of the year
  17. tube — the underground
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. spell — magic
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. swing — music
  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