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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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468
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: bark · racket · field · tube · bat · cap · patient · swing

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. field — farmland
  3. swing — music
  4. field — a subject
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. swing — in golf
  8. tube — a container
  9. cap — a lid
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. tube — the underground
  12. cap — of ice
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. bark — to shout
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. bat — the animal
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. cap — a hat
  22. field — for sport
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. swing — to play on

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