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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's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. wake — a trail
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. spring — a coil
  8. present — there
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. spring — of water
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. tube — the underground
  14. spring — the season
  15. field — for sport
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. present — a gift
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. field — farmland
  21. tube — a container
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. present — the time now
  24. sharp — clever

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