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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: tube · toast · spell · bound · field · file · wound · ground

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. file — a tool
  4. tube — the underground
  5. file — a document
  6. wound — an injury
  7. file — a line of people
  8. toast — bread
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. field — for sport
  11. wound — an injury
  12. bound — obliged
  13. tube — a container
  14. spell — a short time
  15. ground — a position
  16. bound — certain
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. bound — tied together
  19. field — a subject
  20. ground — crushed
  21. spell — magic
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. ground — the earth
  24. spell — letters

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