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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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. band — a music group
  3. field — for sport
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. ball — a dance
  8. cold — not warm
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. field — a subject
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. wake — a trail
  13. field — farmland
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. bear — the animal
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. band — a ring
  21. ball — a great time
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. cold — an illness
  24. mouse — the animal

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