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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. band — a ring
  3. branch — a division
  4. swing — to play on
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. race — the arms race
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. swing — in golf
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. race — a contest
  13. race — humankind
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. field — farmland
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. field — a subject
  21. band — a music group
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. field — for sport
  24. swing — music

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