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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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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: track · rush · tube · row · swing · sharp · ground · season

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. rush — hurry
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. tube — the underground
  7. track — a song
  8. track — to keep track
  9. ground — a position
  10. track — a path
  11. ground — crushed
  12. row — a line
  13. ground — the earth
  14. season — in sport
  15. row — to paddle
  16. tube — a container
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. swing — in golf
  21. swing — to play on
  22. swing — music
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. sharp — clever

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