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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 is an ace ________________.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. field — for sport
  4. wind — moving air
  5. band — a ring
  6. bat — the animal
  7. bear — the animal
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. field — farmland
  14. fine — high quality
  15. wind — moving air
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. field — a subject
  19. bear — the animal
  20. fine — all right
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. band — a music group
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. stand — to bear

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