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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. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — to attach or keep to
  2. roll — a list
  3. field — a subject
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. cold — an illness
  6. band — a music group
  7. field — for sport
  8. prune — to trim
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. cap — a hat
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. cap — a lid
  14. prune — to trim
  15. band — a ring
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. roll — a cake
  18. field — farmland
  19. cap — of ice
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. cold — not warm
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. prune — the fruit

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