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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. field — a subject
  4. pit — in a race
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. plane — a tool
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. bass — low music
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. swing — music
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. band — a ring
  14. field — farmland
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. bass — the fish
  17. swing — to play on
  18. band — a music group
  19. pit — a hole
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. swing — in golf

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