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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. tube — the underground
  3. wind — moving air
  4. object — an aim
  5. bat — the animal
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. wind — moving air
  8. track — a path
  9. club — a group
  10. track — to keep track
  11. track — a song
  12. field — for sport
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. field — farmland
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. tube — a container
  17. object — a thing
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. club — for golf
  20. field — a subject
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. object — to protest
  24. club — for dancing

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