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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 need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. mate — a friend
  5. prune — to trim
  6. tube — a container
  7. field — a subject
  8. stock — shares
  9. stock — goods
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. field — for sport
  12. mate — a partner
  13. hand — in cards
  14. mate — to breed
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. prune — to trim
  17. mine — for digging
  18. tube — the underground
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. hand — help

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