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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: mate · bat · prune · field · stick · craft · tube · lie

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. craft — boats
  3. field — a subject
  4. lie — to recline
  5. tube — the underground
  6. mate — to breed
  7. prune — to trim
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. mate — a friend
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. tube — a container
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. field — for sport
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. bat — the animal
  19. field — farmland
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. prune — to trim
  23. mate — a partner
  24. craft — a skill

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