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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 116 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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. present — the time now
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. field — farmland
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. rush — hurry
  11. field — for sport
  12. game — wild animals
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. field — a subject
  15. present — a gift
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. game — a match
  18. mine — for digging
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. present — there
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. tube — the underground
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. bay — a horse colour

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