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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: deal · band · spring · stick · ground · tube · swing · field

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. band — a ring
  3. tube — the underground
  4. swing — music
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. tube — a container
  7. ground — a position
  8. field — for sport
  9. field — farmland
  10. band — a music group
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. field — a subject
  14. ground — crushed
  15. spring — of water
  16. spring — the season
  17. deal — to handle
  18. swing — in golf
  19. swing — to play on
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. ground — the earth
  22. spring — a coil
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. deal — an agreement

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