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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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. suit — in cards
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. suit — to fit
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. wound — an injury
  7. pitch — completely
  8. band — a ring
  9. stand — to bear
  10. suit — clothes
  11. field — for sport
  12. root — of a plant
  13. bat — the animal
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. wound — an injury
  16. field — a subject
  17. root — the cause
  18. root — of a word
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. field — farmland
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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