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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. band — a ring
  3. stem — to come from
  4. field — farmland
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. last — final
  7. field — for sport
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. last — to go on
  10. land — ground
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. dip — to sink
  14. last — finally
  15. field — a subject
  16. mate — a partner
  17. band — a music group
  18. mate — to breed
  19. land — a country
  20. land — to come down
  21. mate — a friend
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. dip — to dunk

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