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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. field — a subject
  5. field — for sport
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. rash — a series
  8. wake — a trail
  9. band — a music group
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. rash — hasty
  13. spell — letters
  14. rest — what's left
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. field — farmland
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. spell — a short time
  19. spell — magic
  20. deal — to handle
  21. rest — a break
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. rest — what's left

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