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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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468
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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. prune — to trim
  7. prune — to trim
  8. dip — to sink
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. field — farmland
  13. band — a music group
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. field — a subject
  16. band — a ring
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. cell — in biology
  19. chair — a leader
  20. fork — in a road
  21. field — for sport
  22. cell — a phone
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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