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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 120 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 ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. mug — a face
  6. present — the time now
  7. field — a subject
  8. stock — goods
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. tube — the underground
  11. present — there
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. mug — to rob
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. bark — to shout
  18. mine — for digging
  19. tube — a container
  20. field — farmland
  21. stock — shares
  22. field — for sport
  23. present — a gift
  24. mug — a cup

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