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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 116 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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. field — for sport
  3. suit — to fit
  4. suit — in cards
  5. board — a committee
  6. board — to get on
  7. band — a ring
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. staff — a stick
  11. staff — employees
  12. bear — the animal
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. staff — employees
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. field — a subject
  17. spring — the season
  18. suit — clothes
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. bear — the animal
  21. band — a music group
  22. spring — a coil
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. spring — of water

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