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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: tube · swing · press · kid · stock · tear · field · mark

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. stock — shares
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. press — newspapers
  5. field — for sport
  6. press — to push
  7. mark — a trace
  8. swing — music
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. kid — to tease
  11. field — farmland
  12. field — a subject
  13. tear — to rip
  14. swing — to play on
  15. stock — goods
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. swing — in golf
  18. mark — a grade
  19. tear — from crying
  20. tear — from crying
  21. press — a publisher
  22. tube — a container
  23. kid — child
  24. tube — the underground

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