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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 124 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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. spell — a short time
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. field — a subject
  5. fork — in a road
  6. spell — magic
  7. spell — letters
  8. tube — the underground
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. bank — for money
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. field — farmland
  13. bank — of a river
  14. bank — for money
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. field — for sport
  22. tube — a container
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. fork — a garden tool

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