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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: tube · bear · bat · rash · kick · cap · leaves · spring

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. tube — the underground
  3. bear — the animal
  4. spring — the season
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. cap — a lid
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. spring — a coil
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. rash — a series
  12. cap — a hat
  13. bat — the animal
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. bear — the animal
  17. tube — a container
  18. kick — in football
  19. cap — of ice
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. spring — of water

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