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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: rush · band · shower · racket · capital · trunk · bound · field

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. shower — to wash
  3. field — a subject
  4. capital — money
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. bound — tied together
  7. bound — obliged
  8. capital — a city
  9. field — for sport
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. band — a music group
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. band — a ring
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. shower — rain
  21. rush — hurry
  22. bound — certain
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. field — farmland

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