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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. field — a subject
  3. spring — a coil
  4. field — for sport
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. tube — a container
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. field — farmland
  11. roll — a cake
  12. rush — hurry
  13. tube — the underground
  14. roll — a list
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. spring — of water
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. spring — the season
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. stand — to bear
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. fan — to cool the air

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