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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. court — for sport
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. mug — a cup
  6. field — a subject
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. chest — a box
  9. chest — of your body
  10. rush — hurry
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. mug — a face
  13. tube — a container
  14. field — farmland
  15. chest — of your body
  16. court — of a king
  17. court — of law
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. ball — a dance
  20. field — for sport
  21. ball — a great time
  22. bulb — for light
  23. mug — to rob
  24. bulb — for light

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