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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. march — music
  3. field — for sport
  4. pitch — completely
  5. bear — the animal
  6. object — an aim
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. face — to confront
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. object — a thing
  11. kid — to tease
  12. object — to protest
  13. bear — the animal
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. face — to point toward
  17. kid — child
  18. march — the month
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. march — the month
  21. field — farmland
  22. field — a subject
  23. band — a music group
  24. face — part of the head

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