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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. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. firm — decided
  3. field — a subject
  4. pop — to visit
  5. band — a ring
  6. firm — a company
  7. pop — music
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. field — farmland
  10. field — for sport
  11. cold — an illness
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. cold — not warm
  14. bound — tied together
  15. rest — a break
  16. bound — obliged
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. pop — soda
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. band — a music group
  21. rest — what's left
  22. bound — certain
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. firm — steady

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