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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. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — to keep at bay
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. row — to paddle
  4. row — a line
  5. land — ground
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. field — for sport
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. field — a subject
  11. plane — a tool
  12. land — a country
  13. tube — a container
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. cold — an illness
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. land — to come down
  19. tube — the underground
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. field — farmland
  22. stem — to come from
  23. cold — not warm
  24. row — a quarrel

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