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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. field — a subject
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. snap — to click
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. rush — hurry
  9. tube — a container
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. pit — a hole
  13. pit — in a race
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. kick — in football
  16. tube — the underground
  17. field — for sport
  18. kick — with a leg

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