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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.

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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: snap · tube · rash · pitch · season · mine · bulb · spring

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. rash — a series
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. spring — a coil
  6. rash — hasty
  7. pitch — completely
  8. season — in sport
  9. season — of the year
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. tube — a container
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. bulb — for light
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. tube — the underground
  19. bulb — for light
  20. spring — of water
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. spring — the season
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. mine — for digging

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