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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. rush — hurry
  3. band — a music group
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. tube — a container
  6. spell — magic
  7. spell — letters
  8. field — for sport
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. spring — of water
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. field — a subject
  13. mug — to rob
  14. spring — the season
  15. mug — a face
  16. band — a ring
  17. tube — the underground
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. mug — a cup
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. spell — a short time
  22. pitch — completely
  23. spring — a coil
  24. band — a rubber band

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