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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 116 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: pop · field · race · kick · wax · spring · current · tube

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. field — a subject
  3. tube — a container
  4. pop — to visit
  5. field — for sport
  6. pop — soda
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. current — happening now
  10. race — a contest
  11. kick — in football
  12. field — farmland
  13. current — of water
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. wax — to grow
  16. race — the arms race
  17. race — humankind
  18. spring — the season
  19. current — electric
  20. pop — music
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. spring — a coil
  23. tube — the underground
  24. spring — of water

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