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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. season — of the year
  3. squash — to crush
  4. rush — hurry
  5. band — a music group
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. field — for sport
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. band — a ring
  11. field — farmland
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. pound — a weight
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. field — a subject
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. squash — the sport
  18. bear — the animal
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. season — in sport
  21. bark — to shout
  22. bear — the animal
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. squash — the vegetable

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