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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 need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. scale — size or range
  3. band — a music group
  4. band — a ring
  5. tube — the underground
  6. mark — a grade
  7. capital — a city
  8. field — for sport
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. track — a song
  11. track — a path
  12. capital — money
  13. tube — a container
  14. track — to keep track
  15. field — farmland
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. scale — in music
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. field — a subject
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. mark — a trace
  24. branch — a division

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