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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. rash — hasty
  8. field — for sport
  9. tube — the underground
  10. field — farmland
  11. rash — a series
  12. ball — a great time
  13. tube — a container
  14. ball — a dance
  15. prune — to trim
  16. court — for sport
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. court — of a king
  22. fork — in a road
  23. prune — to trim
  24. court — of law

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