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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. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. wound — an injury
  5. rock — music
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. rock — a stone
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. tube — a container
  12. field — farmland
  13. field — a subject
  14. bank — of a river
  15. wound — an injury
  16. bank — for money
  17. bank — for money
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. tube — the underground
  20. hand — in cards
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. foot — a measure
  23. hand — help
  24. field — for sport

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