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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 120 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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. wound — an injury
  3. field — for sport
  4. field — farmland
  5. field — a subject
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. lie — to recline
  11. stock — goods
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. season — of the year
  15. season — in sport
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. wound — an injury
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. band — a ring
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. plane — a tool
  24. stock — shares

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