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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 120 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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. field — a subject
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. cap — of ice
  7. season — in sport
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. cap — a hat
  10. field — farmland
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. stem — to come from
  13. band — a ring
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. season — of the year
  16. wind — moving air
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. band — a music group
  19. field — for sport
  20. wind — moving air
  21. plane — a tool
  22. cap — a lid
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. fine — all right

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