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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 need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. tube — the underground
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. stock — goods
  7. bass — the fish
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. bass — low music
  11. band — a music group
  12. tube — a container
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. field — for sport
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. field — a subject
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. fork — in a road
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. stock — shares
  23. field — farmland
  24. band — a ring

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