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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. spring — of water
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. spring — a coil
  10. field — farmland
  11. field — a subject
  12. spring — the season
  13. date — the fruit
  14. chair — a leader
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. track — a path
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. deal — to handle
  19. track — to keep track
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. tube — a container
  22. tube — the underground
  23. track — a song
  24. field — for sport

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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