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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. cap — a hat
  3. fall — the season
  4. field — a subject
  5. game — wild animals
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. fall — to drop
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. band — a ring
  12. field — for sport
  13. cap — of ice
  14. fall — to drop
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. field — farmland
  18. club — for dancing
  19. game — a match
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. cap — a lid
  23. club — a group
  24. club — for golf

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