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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. field — for sport
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. rock — a stone
  5. hand — help
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. field — a subject
  10. field — farmland
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. date — the fruit
  15. tube — a container
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. hand — in cards
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. rock — music
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. wake — a trail

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