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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. field — farmland
  3. race — humankind
  4. date — the fruit
  5. chair — a leader
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. race — a contest
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. race — the arms race
  10. field — for sport
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. bear — the animal
  17. bear — the animal
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. field — a subject
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. band — a music group

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