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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 · bank · mate · pitcher · land · lean · rush · field

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. tube — the underground
  3. land — ground
  4. field — for sport
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. lean — thin
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. field — a subject
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. bank — for money
  11. mate — to breed
  12. mate — a partner
  13. field — farmland
  14. land — to come down
  15. lean — to bend
  16. tube — a container
  17. bank — of a river
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. rush — hurry
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. land — a country
  24. bank — for money

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