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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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. field — farmland
  4. band — a music group
  5. field — for sport
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wind — moving air
  8. last — final
  9. squash — to crush
  10. cap — a lid
  11. field — a subject
  12. cap — a hat
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. last — finally
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. key — for a lock
  18. squash — the sport
  19. last — to go on
  20. key — the most important part
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. band — a ring
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. cap — of ice

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