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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. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. tube — the underground
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. tube — a container
  5. foot — a measure
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. field — a subject
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. bank — for money
  10. field — for sport
  11. board — to get on
  12. bass — the fish
  13. bass — low music
  14. bank — for money
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. cold — an illness
  18. cold — not warm
  19. field — farmland
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. pound — a weight
  24. board — a committee

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