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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. field — for sport
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. bass — low music
  7. hand — help
  8. clip — to cut
  9. club — for golf
  10. hand — in cards
  11. tube — a container
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. clip — for paper
  14. club — for dancing
  15. wax — to grow
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. field — a subject
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. bass — the fish
  20. club — a group
  21. field — farmland
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. clip — a video
  24. tube — the underground

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