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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. bound — tied together
  3. spring — the season
  4. spring — of water
  5. field — farmland
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. field — a subject
  9. drill — a practice
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. band — a music group
  12. drill — army training
  13. rock — music
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. rule — a law
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. rock — a stone
  18. spring — a coil
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. field — for sport
  21. drill — the tool
  22. rule — government
  23. bound — obliged
  24. bound — certain

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