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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. can — a tin
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. bat — the animal
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. key — in music
  8. field — a subject
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. key — for a lock
  11. key — the most important part
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. can — to be able to
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. clip — to cut
  16. field — farmland
  17. saw — the tool
  18. clip — for paper
  19. saw — the tool
  20. clip — a video
  21. stand — to bear
  22. can — a tin
  23. band — a ring
  24. field — for sport

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