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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. band — a music group
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. march — the month
  6. band — a ring
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. net — in sport
  9. field — farmland
  10. field — a subject
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. net — after costs
  13. swing — music
  14. wake — a trail
  15. march — music
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. swing — to play on
  21. dip — to sink
  22. field — for sport
  23. swing — in golf
  24. march — the month

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