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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. mate — a partner
  3. bulb — for light
  4. march — the month
  5. band — a ring
  6. season — of the year
  7. mate — a friend
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. field — farmland
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. field — for sport
  14. bulb — for light
  15. tube — the underground
  16. tube — a container
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. march — the month
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. season — in sport
  21. mate — to breed
  22. march — music
  23. field — a subject
  24. band — a music group

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