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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. can — to be able to
  3. can — a tin
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. cue — a hint
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. wound — an injury
  8. band — a music group
  9. can — a tin
  10. land — ground
  11. wound — an injury
  12. field — for sport
  13. cue — a signal
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. lean — to bend
  16. field — farmland
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. lean — thin
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. band — a ring
  21. cue — for pool
  22. deal — to handle
  23. land — to come down
  24. land — a country

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