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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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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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. drill — the tool
  3. rest — what's left
  4. field — for sport
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. field — a subject
  7. land — ground
  8. field — farmland
  9. drill — army training
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. land — to come down
  12. band — a ring
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. drill — a practice
  15. rest — a break
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. rest — what's left
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. land — a country
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. patient — a sick person

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