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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 116 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 was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. cell — in biology
  4. cold — not warm
  5. object — to protest
  6. squash — the sport
  7. band — a music group
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. band — a ring
  10. cell — a phone
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. field — farmland
  13. object — an aim
  14. squash — to crush
  15. object — a thing
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. saw — the tool
  18. field — a subject
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. cold — an illness
  22. field — for sport
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. saw — the tool

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