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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: season · tube · key · cabinet · perch · hand · lash · mine

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. season — of the year
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. key — for a lock
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. perch — the fish
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. key — in music
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. tube — a container
  15. key — the most important part
  16. mine — for digging
  17. hand — help
  18. hand — in cards
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. tube — the underground
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. season — in sport

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