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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 120 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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. mine — for digging
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. field — farmland
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. field — a subject
  7. fall — to drop
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. band — a music group
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. fall — the season
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. bat — the animal
  19. band — a ring
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. field — for sport
  24. mine — belonging to me

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