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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. fork — in a road
  3. cue — a hint
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. current — happening now
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. current — electric
  8. board — a committee
  9. prune — to trim
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. cue — for pool
  12. field — for sport
  13. band — a music group
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. field — a subject
  16. current — of water
  17. field — farmland
  18. board — to get on
  19. cue — a signal
  20. prune — to trim
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. cold — an illness
  24. cold — not warm

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