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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 need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. staff — employees
  4. ground — a position
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. tube — a container
  8. deal — to handle
  9. mine — for digging
  10. field — a subject
  11. wind — moving air
  12. ground — crushed
  13. staff — a stick
  14. court — for sport
  15. court — of law
  16. field — farmland
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. ground — the earth
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. staff — employees
  21. wind — moving air
  22. tube — the underground
  23. court — of a king
  24. field — for sport

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