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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 116 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. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. field — a subject
  5. stock — goods
  6. field — for sport
  7. bat — the animal
  8. tube — a container
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. cue — a hint
  11. content — happy
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. cue — a signal
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. stock — shares
  17. cue — for pool
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. content — the amount
  20. field — farmland
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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