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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 120 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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. tube — a container
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. field — a subject
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. branch — a division
  7. mug — a cup
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. swing — to play on
  10. stand — to bear
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. swing — in golf
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. cold — not warm
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. tube — the underground
  17. cold — an illness
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. mug — to rob
  21. field — for sport
  22. mug — a face
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. swing — music

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