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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 · date · tear · trunk · field · chip · squash · pop

  1. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. field — for sport
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. date — the fruit
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. pop — music
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. field — farmland
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. tube — a container
  12. tube — the underground
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. chip — to eat
  15. squash — the sport
  16. pop — to visit
  17. tear — to rip
  18. pop — soda
  19. squash — to crush
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. field — a subject
  22. tear — from crying
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. tear — from crying

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