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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: ball · season · hand · root · tube · wave · board · roll

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. tube — a container
  3. hand — help
  4. root — of a word
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. roll — a cake
  8. season — in sport
  9. board — to get on
  10. roll — a list
  11. ball — a great time
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. hand — in cards
  16. season — of the year
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. tube — the underground
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. ball — a dance
  22. board — a committee
  23. root — of a plant
  24. root — the cause

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