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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: field · cap · rock · band · patient · kick · straw · tube

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. cap — of ice
  3. tube — a container
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. band — a music group
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. field — a subject
  10. cap — a hat
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. cap — a lid
  13. rock — music
  14. field — farmland
  15. tube — the underground
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. band — a ring
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. field — for sport
  22. rock — a stone
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. kick — in football

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