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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. prune — to trim
  6. band — a music group
  7. fine — all right
  8. fine — high quality
  9. field — farmland
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. mate — a friend
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. prune — to trim
  14. can — to be able to
  15. field — a subject
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. mate — to breed
  18. mate — a partner
  19. band — a ring
  20. can — a tin
  21. can — a tin
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. bark — to shout
  24. field — for sport

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