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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 · fork · field · track · fall · bass · foot · race

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. track — to keep track
  4. tube — the underground
  5. bass — low music
  6. field — farmland
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. fall — the season
  9. field — for sport
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. track — a path
  13. fall — to drop
  14. track — a song
  15. race — a contest
  16. race — humankind
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. fork — in a road
  19. bass — the fish
  20. fall — to drop
  21. race — the arms race
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. foot — a measure
  24. field — a subject

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