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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 120 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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. capital — money
  3. cue — a hint
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. season — of the year
  7. capital — a city
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. field — for sport
  10. bear — the animal
  11. cue — a signal
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. cue — for pool
  14. file — a document
  15. file — a tool
  16. snap — to click
  17. field — farmland
  18. bear — the animal
  19. tube — a container
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. season — in sport
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. tube — the underground
  24. field — a subject

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