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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. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — for pool
  2. cue — a hint
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. prune — to trim
  5. land — a country
  6. field — for sport
  7. swing — to play on
  8. file — a tool
  9. field — farmland
  10. tube — a container
  11. land — ground
  12. club — a group
  13. club — for golf
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. tube — the underground
  16. file — a document
  17. swing — music
  18. club — for dancing
  19. field — a subject
  20. land — to come down
  21. swing — in golf
  22. prune — to trim
  23. file — a line of people
  24. cue — a signal

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