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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 120 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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. band — a ring
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. field — for sport
  8. scale — in music
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. scale — size or range
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. field — farmland
  17. bat — the animal
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. field — a subject
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. coach — a trainer

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