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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 116 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: pit · tube · calf · hand · rest · season · file · swing

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. rest — what's left
  3. pit — a hole
  4. swing — in golf
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. hand — in cards
  9. season — of the year
  10. tube — the underground
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. rest — what's left
  13. rest — a break
  14. swing — music
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. pit — in a race
  17. file — a tool
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. tube — a container
  20. hand — help
  21. file — a line of people
  22. swing — to play on
  23. season — in sport
  24. file — a document

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