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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. field — for sport
  3. rule — a law
  4. prune — to trim
  5. prune — to trim
  6. rule — government
  7. field — a subject
  8. band — a music group
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. stem — to come from
  11. bark — to shout
  12. bass — the fish
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. cap — of ice
  15. field — farmland
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. cap — a hat
  19. band — a ring
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. bass — low music
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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