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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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Word bank
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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 very handy with a ________________.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. ball — a dance
  3. field — a subject
  4. band — a ring
  5. band — a music group
  6. game — a match
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. cell — a phone
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. field — for sport
  11. cell — in biology
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. field — farmland
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. ball — a great time
  19. game — wild animals
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. saw — the tool

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