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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. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. mug — a cup
  3. squash — the sport
  4. band — a ring
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. mug — a face
  7. field — for sport
  8. field — a subject
  9. bound — obliged
  10. rest — what's left
  11. press — newspapers
  12. rest — a break
  13. press — a publisher
  14. field — farmland
  15. bound — certain
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. squash — to crush
  21. rest — what's left
  22. mug — to rob
  23. bound — tied together
  24. press — to push

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