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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. land — a country
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. present — the time now
  5. wake — a trail
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. field — a subject
  9. field — farmland
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. land — ground
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. field — for sport
  14. tube — a container
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. present — a gift
  18. present — there
  19. tube — the underground
  20. sharp — clever
  21. foot — a measure
  22. land — to come down
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. fan — to cool the air

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