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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. tube — a container
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. rush — hurry
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. bank — of a river
  8. bank — for money
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. field — for sport
  11. tube — the underground
  12. game — wild animals
  13. plane — a tool
  14. game — a match
  15. bank — for money
  16. field — a subject
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. field — farmland
  20. net — in sport
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. net — after costs
  23. bat — the animal
  24. bat — in an idiom

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