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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: wind · nail · rush · field · march · tube · mate · pop

  1. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. rush — hurry
  5. mate — a friend
  6. pop — music
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. march — music
  9. mate — to breed
  10. mate — a partner
  11. field — for sport
  12. march — the month
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. wind — moving air
  15. march — the month
  16. pop — to visit
  17. field — a subject
  18. tube — a container
  19. wind — moving air
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. pop — soda
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. field — farmland
  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