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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 116 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'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. tube — the underground
  7. tube — a container
  8. deal — to handle
  9. bound — obliged
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. field — farmland
  12. land — to come down
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. field — a subject
  16. hand — help
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. bound — certain
  19. bound — tied together
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. hand — in cards
  22. land — a country
  23. field — for sport
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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