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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. band — a ring
  3. field — for sport
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. lean — thin
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. field — a subject
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. field — farmland
  14. bat — the animal
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. kick — in football
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. lean — to bend
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. bat — for baseball

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