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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. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. file — a document
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. mine — for digging
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. pitch — completely
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. file — a tool
  11. field — for sport
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. tube — the underground
  14. tube — a container
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. field — farmland
  18. file — a line of people
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. field — a subject
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. date — the fruit
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. date — on the calendar

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