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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. drill — the tool
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. spring — a coil
  7. game — a match
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. bank — for money
  10. bank — for money
  11. lie — to recline
  12. game — wild animals
  13. tube — a container
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. bank — of a river
  17. spring — of water
  18. drill — army training
  19. field — a subject
  20. tube — the underground
  21. field — farmland
  22. drill — a practice
  23. foot — a measure
  24. spring — the season

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