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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. band — a ring
  3. foot — a measure
  4. kid — to tease
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. race — the arms race
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. stand — to bear
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. field — for sport
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. field — a subject
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. bound — obliged
  15. kid — child
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. race — a contest
  19. bound — tied together
  20. race — humankind
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. band — a music group
  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