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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. band — a ring
  5. field — for sport
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. field — a subject
  8. spell — a short time
  9. file — a document
  10. land — ground
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. spell — magic
  13. band — a music group
  14. file — a line of people
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. land — to come down
  17. dip — to sink
  18. field — farmland
  19. land — a country
  20. board — a committee
  21. file — a tool
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. board — to get on
  24. board — a flat piece

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