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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. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. tube — the underground
  3. ball — a great time
  4. firm — a company
  5. field — for sport
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. field — farmland
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. field — a subject
  10. firm — decided
  11. board — to get on
  12. race — a contest
  13. race — the arms race
  14. race — humankind
  15. firm — steady
  16. tube — a container
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. ball — a dance
  20. bat — the animal
  21. board — a committee
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. board — a flat piece

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