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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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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. swing — to play on
  3. tube — the underground
  4. fine — all right
  5. band — a music group
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. plane — a tool
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. field — farmland
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. field — a subject
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. band — a ring
  15. field — for sport
  16. swing — music
  17. tube — a container
  18. swing — in golf

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