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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. file — a document
  3. tube — a container
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. tube — the underground
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. field — farmland
  8. root — of a word
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. root — the cause
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. file — a line of people
  13. field — a subject
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. file — a tool
  17. field — for sport
  18. root — of a plant

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