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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. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. field — a subject
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. field — farmland
  5. field — for sport
  6. bulb — for light
  7. clip — a video
  8. band — a music group
  9. capital — a city
  10. capital — money
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. band — a ring
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. roll — a cake
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. clip — to cut
  18. bulb — for light
  19. roll — a list
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. clip — for paper
  24. bulb — of a plant

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