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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. band — a ring
  3. band — a music group
  4. scale — size or range
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. scale — in music
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. cell — in biology
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. cue — a hint
  12. squash — to crush
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. cell — a phone
  15. cue — for pool
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. field — farmland
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. wake — a trail
  21. field — a subject
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. squash — the sport
  24. cue — a signal

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