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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. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — for spectators
  2. spring — the season
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. tube — a container
  5. cue — for pool
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. mug — a face
  8. spring — a coil
  9. clip — for paper
  10. field — farmland
  11. cue — a signal
  12. tube — the underground
  13. bat — the animal
  14. spring — of water
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. mug — a cup
  17. clip — a video
  18. stand — to bear
  19. cue — a hint
  20. mug — to rob
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. field — a subject
  23. clip — to cut
  24. field — for sport

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