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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 need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. net — after costs
  3. net — for catching
  4. net — in sport
  5. press — to push
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. bat — the animal
  8. chip — for betting
  9. tube — a container
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. field — farmland
  13. field — a subject
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. chip — to eat
  18. press — a publisher
  19. pound — a weight
  20. press — newspapers
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. tube — the underground
  23. field — for sport
  24. bat — for baseball

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