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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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. tube — the underground
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. field — farmland
  6. track — to keep track
  7. net — after costs
  8. rest — what's left
  9. rest — a break
  10. tube — a container
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. track — a path
  13. net — for catching
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. field — a subject
  16. chest — a box
  17. bear — the animal
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. chest — of your body
  20. chest — of your body
  21. rest — what's left
  22. field — for sport
  23. track — a song
  24. bear — the animal

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