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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. chest — of your body
  4. fork — in a road
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. field — farmland
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. field — a subject
  9. current — electric
  10. chest — a box
  11. current — happening now
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. chest — of your body
  14. field — for sport
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. mine — for digging
  17. current — of water
  18. saw — the tool
  19. tube — the underground
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. saw — the tool
  24. patient — a sick person

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