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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. file — a document
  3. tube — a container
  4. file — a tool
  5. tube — the underground
  6. cue — a hint
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. spring — a coil
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. field — for sport
  11. spring — the season
  12. spring — of water
  13. cue — for pool
  14. cue — a signal
  15. press — to push
  16. roll — a cake
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. press — a publisher
  19. file — a line of people
  20. field — a subject
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. press — newspapers
  24. roll — a list

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