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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 · deal · tube · land · chest · toast · mate · lash

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. mate — a friend
  3. tube — a container
  4. chest — of your body
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. land — to come down
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. chest — of your body
  9. tube — the underground
  10. field — a subject
  11. mate — a partner
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. field — for sport
  14. toast — bread
  15. field — farmland
  16. deal — to handle
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. land — a country
  19. land — ground
  20. chest — a box
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. mate — to breed
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. lash — an eyelash

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