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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 want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. pit — a hole
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. pit — in a race
  6. field — farmland
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. content — happy
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. bass — low music
  11. bass — the fish
  12. tube — the underground
  13. field — for sport
  14. content — the amount
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. game — a match
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. field — a subject
  22. game — wild animals
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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