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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. band — a music group
  3. bark — to shout
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. field — a subject
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. stand — to bear
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. rock — music
  12. band — a ring
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. stem — to come from
  15. field — farmland
  16. rock — a stone
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. game — wild animals
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. game — a match

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