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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. can — a tin
  3. field — farmland
  4. spring — of water
  5. can — to be able to
  6. can — a tin
  7. field — a subject
  8. root — the cause
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. field — for sport
  11. land — a country
  12. land — ground
  13. land — to come down
  14. clip — a video
  15. pop — music
  16. pop — to visit
  17. root — of a plant
  18. clip — to cut
  19. clip — for paper
  20. root — of a word
  21. spring — the season
  22. tube — the underground
  23. tube — a container
  24. pop — soda

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