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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. field — a subject
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. press — a publisher
  5. land — to come down
  6. land — ground
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. bass — the fish
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. press — newspapers
  11. ball — a great time
  12. press — to push
  13. race — the arms race
  14. field — farmland
  15. race — humankind
  16. band — a music group
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. race — a contest
  19. field — for sport
  20. land — a country
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. ball — a dance
  23. bass — low music
  24. ruler — a monarch

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