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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: date · saw · rock · field · cell · hand · tube · net

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. field — for sport
  3. rock — a stone
  4. hand — help
  5. rock — music
  6. tube — the underground
  7. net — in sport
  8. hand — in cards
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. saw — the tool
  11. cell — in biology
  12. net — after costs
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. field — farmland
  16. date — the fruit
  17. field — a subject
  18. saw — the tool
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. cell — a phone
  22. net — for catching
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. tube — a container

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