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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. mine — for digging
  3. tube — a container
  4. rush — hurry
  5. field — farmland
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. file — a tool
  11. dip — to sink
  12. file — a document
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. tube — the underground
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. squash — to crush
  17. file — a line of people
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. squash — the sport
  21. field — for sport
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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