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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: clip · season · tube · racket · march · fine · cabinet · spring

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. march — the month
  3. march — the month
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. clip — to cut
  7. spring — of water
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. clip — for paper
  11. clip — a video
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. season — of the year
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. tube — a container
  17. season — in sport
  18. march — music
  19. fine — high quality
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. spring — the season
  22. fine — all right
  23. tube — the underground
  24. fine — a penalty

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