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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. field — farmland
  4. ground — crushed
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. field — for sport
  8. ground — the earth
  9. mark — a trace
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. rest — what's left
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. mark — a grade
  18. ground — a position
  19. rest — what's left
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. rest — a break
  22. field — a subject
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. band — a ring

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