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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: craft · tube · straw · spring · field · mug · firm · rest

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. field — a subject
  3. rest — a break
  4. spring — of water
  5. field — farmland
  6. firm — decided
  7. mug — to rob
  8. tube — a container
  9. firm — a company
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. mug — a cup
  13. firm — steady
  14. mug — a face
  15. field — for sport
  16. spring — the season
  17. rest — what's left
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. tube — the underground
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. craft — a skill
  22. craft — boats
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. rest — what's left

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