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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 116 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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. game — a match
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. field — farmland
  6. current — of water
  7. current — electric
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. band — a ring
  11. cap — a lid
  12. cap — a hat
  13. field — a subject
  14. game — wild animals
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. rest — a break
  17. band — a music group
  18. branch — a division
  19. cap — of ice
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. current — happening now
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. rest — what's left
  24. rest — what's left

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