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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
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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: land · cap · tube · wound · field · rock · coach · race

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. wound — an injury
  3. land — ground
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. field — farmland
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. rock — music
  9. rock — a stone
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. race — a contest
  13. wound — an injury
  14. field — for sport
  15. cap — a lid
  16. race — humankind
  17. land — a country
  18. tube — a container
  19. cap — a hat
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. race — the arms race
  22. cap — of ice
  23. land — to come down
  24. field — a subject

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