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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: firm · rash · cold · season · tube · row · net · stick

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. rash — a series
  3. rash — hasty
  4. net — after costs
  5. tube — a container
  6. cold — an illness
  7. firm — decided
  8. cold — not warm
  9. firm — a company
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. row — a line
  14. season — of the year
  15. firm — steady
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. net — in sport
  19. season — in sport
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. row — to paddle
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. net — for catching

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