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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. tube — a container
  4. field — for sport
  5. vault — a safe
  6. wind — moving air
  7. tube — the underground
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. land — to come down
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. court — of law
  13. track — a path
  14. land — ground
  15. track — a song
  16. wind — moving air
  17. track — to keep track
  18. field — a subject
  19. land — a country
  20. rush — hurry
  21. court — of a king
  22. field — farmland
  23. court — for sport
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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