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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. band — a ring
  6. band — a music group
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. snap — to click
  9. file — a tool
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. field — a subject
  15. board — a committee
  16. file — a line of people
  17. board — to get on
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. file — a document
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. field — for sport
  24. pitcher — a jug

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