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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 116 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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. field — farmland
  5. board — to get on
  6. swing — in golf
  7. field — a subject
  8. fine — all right
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. field — for sport
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. fine — high quality
  13. board — a committee
  14. swing — music
  15. band — a ring
  16. swing — to play on
  17. land — to come down
  18. kid — to tease
  19. land — a country
  20. band — a music group
  21. land — ground
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. kid — child
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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