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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. cue — for pool
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. band — a music group
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. rash — hasty
  9. field — for sport
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. bank — for money
  12. bank — for money
  13. rash — a series
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. cue — a signal
  17. row — a line
  18. field — farmland
  19. cue — a hint
  20. fork — in a road
  21. field — a subject
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. bank — of a river
  24. row — to paddle

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