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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 120 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. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. band — a music group
  3. can — a tin
  4. can — a tin
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. bark — to shout
  7. fall — to drop
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. chest — of your body
  11. can — to be able to
  12. fall — the season
  13. fall — to drop
  14. chest — of your body
  15. dip — to sink
  16. field — farmland
  17. band — a ring
  18. field — a subject
  19. chest — a box
  20. field — for sport
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. rock — music
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. band — a rubber band

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