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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 120 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: season · root · straw · spring · tube · fan · object · content

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. season — in sport
  4. object — a thing
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. root — the cause
  7. tube — the underground
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. spring — a coil
  13. spring — of water
  14. spring — the season
  15. root — of a word
  16. tube — a container
  17. root — of a plant
  18. content — happy
  19. season — of the year
  20. content — the amount
  21. object — to protest
  22. object — an aim
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. content — videos and posts

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