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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. field — for sport
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. tube — the underground
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. tube — a container
  9. kid — to tease
  10. field — farmland
  11. land — to come down
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. field — a subject
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. land — a country
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. kid — child
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. land — ground
  24. rush — to hurry

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