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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. squash — to crush
  6. band — a ring
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. sharp — clever
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. field — for sport
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. tube — a container
  14. band — a music group
  15. squash — the sport
  16. field — farmland
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. wound — an injury
  19. wound — an injury
  20. rash — hasty
  21. field — a subject
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. rash — a series

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