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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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. land — ground
  4. fall — the season
  5. field — for sport
  6. field — a subject
  7. track — a path
  8. tube — a container
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. land — to come down
  12. branch — a division
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. tube — the underground
  15. fall — to drop
  16. track — a song
  17. fall — to drop
  18. land — a country
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. track — to keep track
  22. bass — low music
  23. field — farmland
  24. bass — the fish

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