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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 116 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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. band — a ring
  3. spell — letters
  4. spell — magic
  5. field — farmland
  6. spell — a short time
  7. rest — what's left
  8. rest — what's left
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. field — for sport
  12. cap — a hat
  13. band — a music group
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. cap — a lid
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. cap — of ice
  21. content — the amount
  22. content — happy
  23. rest — a break
  24. leaves — of a tree

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