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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: fork · scale · cold · racket · tube · field · jam · swing

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. cold — an illness
  3. field — a subject
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. cold — not warm
  6. scale — in music
  7. swing — in golf
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. swing — music
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. tube — a container
  12. field — for sport
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. field — farmland
  16. swing — to play on
  17. fork — in a road
  18. jam — to spread on bread
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. scale — size or range

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