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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. bass — low music
  5. field — a subject
  6. field — farmland
  7. snap — to click
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. staff — a stick
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. band — a music group
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. tube — the underground
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. field — for sport
  19. band — a ring
  20. staff — employees
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. staff — employees
  24. bass — the fish

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