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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: wake · spring · can · field · tube · pop · net · straw

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. can — a tin
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. field — for sport
  6. can — to be able to
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. pop — to visit
  10. net — after costs
  11. wake — a trail
  12. can — a tin
  13. pop — music
  14. net — for catching
  15. spring — of water
  16. pop — soda
  17. net — in sport
  18. spring — the season
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. field — a subject
  21. tube — a container
  22. spring — a coil
  23. tube — the underground
  24. wake — before a funeral

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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