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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 120 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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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: bowl · net · tube · pound · stem · field · mate · stick

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. field — farmland
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. stem — to come from
  5. mate — a partner
  6. field — for sport
  7. field — a subject
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. net — in sport
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. mate — a friend
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. net — for catching
  16. tube — the underground
  17. pound — a weight
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. tube — a container
  21. net — after costs
  22. mate — to breed
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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