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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 116 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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. squash — the sport
  3. field — farmland
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. bound — certain
  7. band — a ring
  8. sharp — clever
  9. pop — to visit
  10. cap — of ice
  11. squash — to crush
  12. cap — a hat
  13. bound — obliged
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. cap — a lid
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. pop — music
  19. bound — tied together
  20. field — for sport
  21. band — a music group
  22. field — a subject
  23. fork — in a road
  24. sharp — exactly

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