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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. cap — a lid
  3. shower — rain
  4. field — a subject
  5. band — a music group
  6. key — in music
  7. key — for a lock
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. cap — a hat
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. cap — of ice
  13. field — farmland
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. fall — to drop
  17. scale — in music
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. fall — to drop
  20. scale — size or range
  21. key — the most important part
  22. band — a ring
  23. fall — the season
  24. shower — to wash

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