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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. cap — a lid
  3. track — to keep track
  4. game — a match
  5. band — a ring
  6. vault — a safe
  7. field — for sport
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. field — a subject
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. cap — a hat
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. band — a music group
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. field — farmland
  18. track — a path
  19. track — a song
  20. game — wild animals
  21. cap — of ice
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. pitch — completely
  24. pitch — a sports field

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