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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 · last · lean · season · clip · swing · game · hide

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. clip — for paper
  3. last — to go on
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. season — in sport
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. swing — music
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. last — final
  11. season — of the year
  12. swing — in golf
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. clip — a video
  15. tube — a container
  16. lean — to bend
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. swing — to play on
  19. lean — thin
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. tube — the underground
  22. clip — to cut
  23. last — finally
  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