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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. band — a music group
  4. tube — the underground
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. band — a ring
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. plane — a tool
  13. saw — the tool
  14. saw — the tool
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. field — for sport
  17. ball — a great time
  18. rush — hurry
  19. field — a subject
  20. ball — a dance
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. tube — a container

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