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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: plane · cap · field · racket · mine · march · bank · band

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. cap — a hat
  3. cap — of ice
  4. field — farmland
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. bank — for money
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. field — a subject
  9. band — a music group
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. bank — for money
  13. mine — for digging
  14. bank — of a river
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. plane — a tool
  18. march — the month
  19. cap — a lid
  20. march — the month
  21. field — for sport
  22. march — music
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. band — a rubber band

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