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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: foot · kid · field · tube · date · game · press · nail

  1. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. press — to push
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. kid — to tease
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. game — a match
  9. kid — child
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. field — a subject
  12. field — farmland
  13. press — newspapers
  14. date — the fruit
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. foot — a measure
  17. press — a publisher
  18. tube — a container
  19. game — wild animals
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. field — for sport
  23. tube — the underground
  24. game — a kind of play

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