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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. rest — what's left
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. rest — a break
  5. field — a subject
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. band — a music group
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. hand — in cards
  11. fork — in a road
  12. staff — employees
  13. staff — employees
  14. capital — a city
  15. band — a ring
  16. staff — a stick
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. field — farmland
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. rest — what's left
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. field — for sport
  24. capital — money

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