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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: leaves · cold · straw · bass · mine · can · field · tube

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  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. field — for sport
  2. can — to be able to
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. cold — not warm
  5. mine — for digging
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. field — farmland
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. cold — an illness
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. tube — the underground
  13. can — a tin
  14. bass — the fish
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. tube — a container
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. can — a tin
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. bass — low music
  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