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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: fall · bowl · bat · coach · field · band

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. fall — to drop
  6. bat — the animal
  7. fall — the season
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. band — a music group
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. field — a subject
  13. field — farmland
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. fall — to drop
  16. field — for sport
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. band — a ring

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