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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. wound — an injury
  3. field — farmland
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. last — finally
  6. mark — a grade
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. mark — a trace
  11. last — to go on
  12. last — final
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. object — a thing
  15. object — to protest
  16. field — for sport
  17. rock — music
  18. band — a ring
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. rock — a stone
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. object — an aim
  23. wound — an injury
  24. field — a subject

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