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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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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: pop · bay · band · present · roll · tube · fan · field

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. band — a ring
  3. tube — a container
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. roll — a list
  8. pop — to visit
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. field — farmland
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. present — the time now
  14. field — a subject
  15. tube — the underground
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. pop — music
  18. pop — soda
  19. field — for sport
  20. roll — a cake
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. present — a gift
  23. band — a music group
  24. present — there

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