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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. tube — a container
  3. tube — the underground
  4. cap — a hat
  5. bound — certain
  6. field — for sport
  7. bound — obliged
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. field — farmland
  10. squash — to crush
  11. squash — the sport
  12. saw — the tool
  13. cap — a lid
  14. field — a subject
  15. plane — a tool
  16. bound — tied together
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. tear — to rip
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. tear — from crying
  23. tear — from crying
  24. cap — of ice

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