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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. band — a ring
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. field — for sport
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. shower — rain
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. land — a country
  10. shower — to wash
  11. board — a committee
  12. field — a subject
  13. bulb — for light
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. field — farmland
  16. land — ground
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. board — to get on
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. bulb — for light
  21. land — to come down
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. band — a music group

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