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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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. foot — a measure
  4. band — a music group
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. shower — rain
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. field — a subject
  13. field — for sport
  14. mark — a grade
  15. cap — of ice
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. cap — a hat
  18. shower — to wash
  19. mark — a trace
  20. fall — to drop
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. fall — to drop
  23. fall — the season
  24. cap — a lid

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