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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. band — a music group
  4. game — wild animals
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. net — in sport
  7. game — a match
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. rush — hurry
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. field — for sport
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. stand — to bear
  18. net — for catching
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. net — after costs
  21. field — a subject
  22. field — farmland
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. jam — a tight spot

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