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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. cue — a hint
  3. field — for sport
  4. drill — army training
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. cue — for pool
  8. race — a contest
  9. field — farmland
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. drill — the tool
  12. cue — a signal
  13. race — the arms race
  14. race — humankind
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. tube — a container
  17. field — a subject
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. face — to confront
  20. drill — a practice
  21. face — to point toward
  22. face — part of the head
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. fork — in a road

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