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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. chip — to eat
  3. band — a music group
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. cap — a hat
  6. bark — to shout
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. field — farmland
  9. spell — a short time
  10. field — a subject
  11. foot — a measure
  12. cap — a lid
  13. field — for sport
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. lean — to bend
  16. lean — thin
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. cap — of ice
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. spell — letters
  21. chip — for betting
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. spell — magic
  24. foot — the bottom

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