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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. scale — size or range
  4. cap — a lid
  5. field — a subject
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. cold — an illness
  8. bore — to tire
  9. cap — of ice
  10. cap — a hat
  11. capital — money
  12. bore — to drill
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. cold — not warm
  17. capital — a city
  18. tube — the underground
  19. scale — in music
  20. field — farmland
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. rush — hurry
  23. tube — a container
  24. rush — a thrill

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