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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. drill — army training
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. press — a publisher
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. tube — a container
  9. pop — soda
  10. field — a subject
  11. field — for sport
  12. drill — the tool
  13. tube — the underground
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. band — a music group
  16. band — a ring
  17. press — to push
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. cold — an illness
  20. drill — a practice
  21. pop — music
  22. cold — not warm
  23. press — newspapers
  24. field — farmland

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