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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. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. pit — in a race
  4. cold — an illness
  5. fine — high quality
  6. field — for sport
  7. tube — a container
  8. prune — to trim
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. pit — a hole
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. prune — to trim
  13. bulb — for light
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. kick — in football
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. cold — not warm
  21. bulb — for light
  22. field — farmland
  23. field — a subject
  24. fine — all right

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