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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. field — farmland
  3. bass — low music
  4. bass — the fish
  5. spell — a short time
  6. ball — a great time
  7. spell — letters
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. bound — obliged
  10. band — a music group
  11. ball — a dance
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. band — a ring
  14. board — a committee
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. spell — magic
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. bound — certain
  19. bound — tied together
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. field — for sport
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. board — to get on

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