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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. present — there
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. pitch — completely
  9. present — the time now
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. band — a ring
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. prune — to trim
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. field — a subject
  16. prune — to trim
  17. bat — the animal
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. present — a gift
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. field — farmland
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. field — for sport

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