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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: pop · tube · present · field · file · bowl · wake · kid

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. field — farmland
  4. kid — to tease
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. tube — the underground
  7. file — a tool
  8. file — a line of people
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. present — the time now
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. wake — a trail
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. field — a subject
  16. pop — soda
  17. file — a document
  18. present — a gift
  19. pop — to visit
  20. present — there
  21. field — for sport
  22. tube — a container
  23. pop — music
  24. bowl — a dish

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