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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. spring — the season
  3. field — a subject
  4. dip — to sink
  5. lean — to bend
  6. lean — thin
  7. tube — a container
  8. pit — in a race
  9. wind — moving air
  10. field — farmland
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. plane — a tool
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. wind — moving air
  16. spring — a coil
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. spring — of water
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. pit — a hole
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. tube — the underground

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