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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. tube — the underground
  5. last — to go on
  6. field — farmland
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. roll — a list
  9. fork — in a road
  10. bat — the animal
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. field — for sport
  14. field — a subject
  15. chest — a box
  16. roll — a cake
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. chest — of your body
  19. last — final
  20. chest — of your body
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. last — finally
  24. tube — a container

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