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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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. band — a ring
  4. sharp — clever
  5. prune — to trim
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. prune — to trim
  9. wound — an injury
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. field — for sport
  14. field — farmland
  15. chair — a leader
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. field — a subject
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. stand — to bear
  24. prune — the fruit

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