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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. band — a ring
  3. band — a music group
  4. roll — a list
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. wound — an injury
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. scale — in music
  9. roll — a cake
  10. spring — the season
  11. bass — low music
  12. wound — an injury
  13. scale — size or range
  14. spring — a coil
  15. field — farmland
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. bass — the fish
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. spring — of water
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. field — for sport
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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