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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 want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. field — a subject
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. club — a group
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. field — for sport
  8. bat — the animal
  9. field — farmland
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. snap — to click
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. club — for dancing
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. club — for golf
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. tube — the underground
  23. vault — a safe
  24. straw — a straw man

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