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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 want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. drill — the tool
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. can — a tin
  5. branch — a division
  6. field — a subject
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. can — a tin
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. drill — a practice
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. wind — moving air
  13. hand — in cards
  14. wind — moving air
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. game — wild animals
  18. tube — the underground
  19. hand — help
  20. field — for sport
  21. field — farmland
  22. game — a match
  23. drill — army training
  24. can — to be able to

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