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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 120 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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. band — a ring
  3. drill — the tool
  4. current — electric
  5. season — in sport
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. band — a music group
  10. current — of water
  11. drill — army training
  12. current — happening now
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. drill — a practice
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. season — of the year
  18. pitch — completely

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