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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. tube — a container
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. rock — music
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. root — of a plant
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. root — of a word
  11. tube — the underground
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. wound — an injury
  14. wound — an injury
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. rock — a stone
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. root — the cause
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. field — a subject
  23. field — farmland
  24. pitcher — a jug

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