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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. shower — rain
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. pitch — completely
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. saw — the tool
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. field — for sport
  10. club — a group
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. shower — to wash
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. tube — the underground
  16. chair — a leader
  17. club — for golf
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. field — a subject
  21. saw — the tool
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. club — for dancing
  24. field — farmland

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