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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. field — farmland
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. rock — a stone
  7. jam — in traffic
  8. field — for sport
  9. saw — the tool
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. clip — to cut
  12. field — a subject
  13. bank — for money
  14. clip — for paper
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. saw — the tool
  18. bank — of a river
  19. bank — for money
  20. rock — music
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. band — a music group
  23. band — a ring
  24. clip — a video

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