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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: game · rush · can · land · rash · bark · tube · field

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. game — wild animals
  5. tube — the underground
  6. can — a tin
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. bark — to shout
  9. field — a subject
  10. can — a tin
  11. game — a match
  12. tube — a container
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. rash — a series
  15. land — to come down
  16. field — farmland
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. field — for sport
  20. can — to be able to
  21. land — a country
  22. land — ground
  23. rash — hasty
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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