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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. bat — the animal
  4. cell — a phone
  5. field — farmland
  6. can — a tin
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. band — a ring
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. cell — in biology
  11. field — a subject
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. can — a tin
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. band — a music group
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. can — to be able to
  23. mine — for digging
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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