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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. last — finally
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. band — a ring
  6. field — farmland
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. dip — to sink
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. band — a music group
  11. last — final
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. field — a subject
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. sharp — clever
  16. last — to go on
  17. clip — for paper
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. clip — to cut
  23. clip — a video
  24. field — for sport

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