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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. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. field — for sport
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. band — a music group
  5. bulb — for light
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. season — in sport
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. field — a subject
  10. band — a ring
  11. field — farmland
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. season — of the year
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. branch — a division
  16. bulb — for light
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. capital — a city
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. capital — money
  22. bass — low music
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. bass — the fish

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