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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.

Words on the sheet
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: game · tube · file · nail · suit · field · band · mine

  1. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. When will it ________________ you to start?
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. band — a ring
  5. suit — to fit
  6. mine — for digging
  7. field — for sport
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. tube — a container
  10. field — a subject
  11. tube — the underground
  12. file — a line of people
  13. game — wild animals
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. band — a music group
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. file — a document
  18. suit — clothes
  19. game — a match
  20. suit — in cards
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. field — farmland
  24. file — a tool

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