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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. deal — to handle
  3. cue — for pool
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. chair — a leader
  6. clip — to cut
  7. field — for sport
  8. plane — a tool
  9. clip — for paper
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. cue — a signal
  12. band — a ring
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. bank — for money
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. bank — for money
  17. cue — a hint
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. band — a music group
  21. clip — a video
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. field — a subject
  24. bank — of a river

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