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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. field — for sport
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. band — a ring
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. tube — the underground
  7. squash — to crush
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. object — a thing
  10. squash — the sport
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. plane — a tool
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. sharp — clever
  16. field — a subject
  17. scale — size or range
  18. band — a music group
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. tube — a container
  21. object — to protest
  22. object — an aim
  23. scale — in music
  24. sharp — with an edge

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