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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: ground · court · sharp · saw · wind · tube · field · cap

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. tube — the underground
  3. field — a subject
  4. ground — crushed
  5. wind — moving air
  6. ground — the earth
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. sharp — clever
  10. field — farmland
  11. court — of a king
  12. court — for sport
  13. cap — of ice
  14. saw — the tool
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. field — for sport
  17. cap — a hat
  18. ground — a position
  19. court — of law
  20. saw — the tool
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. wind — moving air
  24. cap — a lid

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