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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: fork · tube · season · cold · face · kick · lash · sharp

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. cold — not warm
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. cold — an illness
  5. tube — the underground
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. sharp — clever
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. face — to confront
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. season — of the year
  15. season — in sport
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. face — part of the head
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. kick — in football
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. fork — in a road
  24. face — to point toward

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