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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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. field — farmland
  3. chest — of your body
  4. chest — a box
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. field — a subject
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. spring — the season
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. pit — in a race
  16. tube — a container
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. spring — a coil
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. field — for sport
  21. spring — of water
  22. tube — the underground
  23. pit — a hole
  24. chest — of your body

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