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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: field · chip · court · tube · rush · swing · kick · cap

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. field — for sport
  3. tube — the underground
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. rush — hurry
  6. swing — music
  7. field — a subject
  8. court — of a king
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. field — farmland
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. swing — in golf
  13. chip — for betting
  14. court — for sport
  15. court — of law
  16. cap — of ice
  17. chip — to eat
  18. tube — a container
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. cap — a lid
  21. cap — a hat
  22. swing — to play on
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. kick — in football

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