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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.

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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: tube · face · swing · season · game · mate · snap · spring

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. season — in sport
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. season — of the year
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. spring — a coil
  8. game — wild animals
  9. face — to confront
  10. face — part of the head
  11. tube — a container
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. mate — a friend
  14. tube — the underground
  15. spring — the season
  16. swing — to play on
  17. swing — in golf
  18. mate — to breed
  19. swing — music
  20. mate — a partner
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. snap — to click
  23. spring — of water
  24. game — a match

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