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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. When will it ________________ you to start?
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. net — after costs
  3. band — a music group
  4. net — for catching
  5. fine — high quality
  6. field — a subject
  7. fine — all right
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. field — farmland
  10. suit — to fit
  11. rule — government
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. cell — in biology
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. net — in sport
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. field — for sport
  18. cell — a phone
  19. kid — child
  20. suit — clothes
  21. band — a ring
  22. rule — a law
  23. kid — to tease
  24. suit — in cards

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