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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 124 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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. land — a country
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. land — ground
  5. ball — a great time
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. chip — to eat
  9. spring — of water
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. tube — the underground
  13. chip — for betting
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. land — to come down
  16. field — a subject
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. spring — a coil
  20. tube — a container
  21. spring — the season
  22. field — for sport
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. ball — a dance

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