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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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. club — a group
  4. season — of the year
  5. spring — a coil
  6. club — for golf
  7. last — to go on
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. spring — the season
  10. season — in sport
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. tube — the underground
  13. track — a path
  14. ground — a position
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. ground — crushed
  18. last — finally
  19. track — a song
  20. ground — the earth
  21. track — to keep track
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. club — for dancing
  24. last — 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