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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. lean — to bend
  3. march — the month
  4. rest — what's left
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. land — to come down
  7. lean — thin
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. march — music
  10. rest — a break
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. field — farmland
  13. rest — what's left
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. land — a country
  16. band — a music group
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. band — a ring
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. land — ground
  21. branch — a division
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. march — the month
  24. field — a subject

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