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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. bark — to shout
  4. bass — low music
  5. field — a subject
  6. band — a music group
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. field — for sport
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. last — to go on
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. bass — the fish
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. last — finally
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. field — farmland
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. band — a ring
  23. stand — to bear
  24. bowl — a dish

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