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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: kick · field · ground · tube · season · land · straw · nail

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. tube — a container
  3. land — to come down
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. kick — in football
  7. land — ground
  8. field — a subject
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. season — in sport
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. ground — a position
  14. tube — the underground
  15. land — a country
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. ground — crushed
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. field — farmland
  22. season — of the year
  23. ground — the earth
  24. field — for sport

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