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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. shower — rain
  3. field — a subject
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. shower — to wash
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. bound — certain
  11. tube — the underground
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. tube — a container
  15. bound — obliged
  16. field — farmland
  17. bound — tied together
  18. pitcher — in baseball

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